AUBURN — The artist behind a sculpture dubbed “Bud Form” can get to work following city approval, but its permanent home has yet to be approved.
A photo of a sculpture by Hugh Lassen was provided to the Auburn City Council last month to give members an idea of the artist’s work. One of Lassen’s pieces will be placed in the city, likely near Longley Memorial Bridge. Submitted photo
Following a lengthy grant process that will bring separate public art projects to Lewiston and Auburn, the City Council voted 6-1 to approve the installation last week, but unlike Lewiston, which approved its project in May, the location for Auburn’s project is not set in stone.
While officials largely approved of the project by Maine-based sculptor Hugh Lassen, they didn’t agree on the initial location proposal of Anniversary Park, part of the city’s New Auburn Village Revitalization project that’s taking shape now.
Instead, councilors argued, the sculpture should be in a more visible location. The discussion led the council to initially table a vote on the overall project.
During recent discussions, councilors mostly agreed on a new location: a slice of city land near Longley Memorial Bridge, which lies adjacent to parking and riverwalk access.
Councilor Brian Carrier, like others, worried that unless visitors drive into Anniversary Park behind Rolly’s Diner they might miss the installation. He argued that locating it next to the bridge will make it visible for passing motorists and also accessible near parking and the riverwalk.
However, Councilor Holly Lasagna said she agreed with the original proposal.
“It’s sited in a place people are going to gather, where they can hang out around the art,” she said. “Don’t we want people to go specifically to this new park in New Auburn?”
Other councilors said it could take away from the newly erected tower for the St. Louis bells, which went up last week in Anniversary Park.
Beckie Conrad, the former chamber president and co-chairwoman of the public art working group, told Auburn officials that Lassen was “open to the piece being sited elsewhere” in the city.
She and working group co-chairwoman Darby Ray said the goal of the public art projects is to stimulate economic development activity through art. That means using installations by well-known artists to “encourage an audience to seek out a new place,” in this case, Auburn.
“We hope this is part of a longer term effort on both sides of the river,” Conrad said.
In Lewiston, artist Andy Rosen will place a series of foxes at the foot of the small waterfall between Baxter Brewing Co. and Bates Mill No. 5.
Rosen’s works, like “Unpack,” installed on pilings along the Portland waterfront in 2015, are known to draw a crowd.
In early 2019, the Maine Arts Commission awarded a $75,000 grant to the chamber of commerce and L/A Arts to implement a “cultural plan” for Lewiston-Auburn. In January, the public art working group tasked with overseeing the grant put out a call for submissions from artists and received 11 entries.
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