Community Input Needed for Public Art Project Coming to Reaves Park

Image of one of Tyler FuQua’s recent Mechans seen at this year’s Burning Man

The Norman Arts Council and the City of Norman have commissioned Tyler FuQua Creations to design and install one of their world-famous Mechan Robots in Reaves Park as part of Norman Forward. Norman’s Robot will be a baseball player AND a Medieval knight (depending on the season). FuQua is seeking community input on a few finishing details of the robot to help make it singular and special to Norman and a point of pride for those who call it home.

There are two different opportunities, one is only for Norman High School students, and the other for anyone. Submissions for both are due by 11:59 p.m. Friday, October 20.

Early renderings of Norman’s Mechan Robot

MECHAN ROBOT NUMBER SUBMISSIONS
OPEN TO EVERYONE
DUE 11:59 p.m. Friday, October 20

Details from Tyler:
Tyler FuQua of Tyler FuQua Creations here and we need your help with the naming (or maybe I should say numbering?) of the new giant Mechan robot for Reaves Park. 

See, all of our robots have a number and we would like the people of Norman to come up with a number that you feel best represents your city.  How you choose this is up to you and the only limitations are that it can’t be more than 3 numbers and it can’t be the following (they are already taken: 1, 8, 9, X or 10, 11, 42, 1000, and H2O.)  

Once decided, the number will go on the back of this robot’s back forever.  It will forever be known as MECHAN ____.  Help us fill in the blank! 

Please submit your number suggestion and briefly describe what the number means.

Mechan Heart Chamber Design
Open to Norman high school students only
DUE 11:59 p.m. Friday, October 20


A letter from FuQua:

Hello, High School Students of Norman!

I am Tyler FuQua of a small art company in Eagle Creek, OR called Tyler FuQua Creations and we will be creating a giant robot for Reaves Park in Norman.  We are super excited to be doing this and we are well underway in the construction of this Mechan (all of our robots are from the fictional robot company, Mechan Inc.) 
All of our robots have something original and very special - a heart chamber.  Each one is unique and helps symbolize what that particular robot is all about.  This is where you come in!   
We would like you to create/draw/sketch a 2D heart chamber design that represents Norman and Reaves Park.  

This robot will mostly be a baseball-playing robot, but it will be a robot knight to represent the Medieval Fair for a time during the year.  

The heart chamber doesn’t necessarily have to represent either of these two things - or maybe you want it to represent both! It’s up to you.  

We ask that you incorporate a mirrored or reflective surface somewhere.  

Get creative!  You can just draw something artsy or get technical with what materials you think it should be made of.  Once the designs are submitted, a small committee will select the one we think is the best option (both in design, representation, and feasibility.) We will then transform the 2D drawing into a 3D representation and it will live forever in the chest of this giant metal robot.   

The chamber will be in the shape of an upside-down triangle with the corners cut off.  It will be about 6” deep, 25” wide and 27” tall (see attached sketch.)  

Greatest Athlete of All-Time Highlighted in Art Exhibition Opening at MAINSITE

Breaking Barriers: The Jim Thorpe Collection
October 13 through November 11, 2023
Opening Reception: 6-9 p.m. Friday, October 13
Closing Reception: 6-9 p.m. Friday, November 10
MAINSITE Contemporary Art | 122 E. Main, Norman
Open 10a-4p Tuesday through Saturday

It’s fitting that in Norman — a city equally celebrated for its Sooner athletics and creative community — we see those respective worlds collide in Breaking Barriers: The Jim Thorpe Collection.

The exhibition is the brainchild of Norman-based artist Steve Hare and features the work of Hare, Norman printmaker and artist Ginna Dowling, metal work by Corbin Leonard and artwork created by Norman High School students under the instruction of NHS art teacher Tauri Simms. It runs at MAINSITE from Friday, October 13 through Saturday, November 11, with an opening reception set for 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, October 13 as a part of the 2nd Friday Norman Art Walk.

The body of work represents intersections of a lifetime’s worth of experiences from Hare, who has gone from a volunteer at the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame to a member of the Executive Council, a member of the selection committee for the Jim Thorpe Award and the prestigious opportunity to paint the recipient each year.

“Art encourages memory and discovery. It allows us to re-connect with what may have been lost or to connect with what may not have been found,” Hare said in his artist statement. “It was my father that first introduced me to Jim Thorpe, a real-life superhero that I would first capture in my 4th grade Oklahoma history project unaware that our paths would one day cross again.”

Breaking Barriers celebrates the seminal Oklahoma figure who played both professional football and baseball, was the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States in the Olympics and is considered to be one of the greatest athletes of all-time.

“The pieces in this show represent a relentless pursuit of knowledge over this past year, of trying to capture the spirit of Jim Thorpe through my eyes,” Hare said. “Jim Thorpe has been a symbol of strength and determination for generations. A shadow in history that teaches us lessons in humility, determination, and hope against all odds.”

MAINSITE Contemporary Art is located at 122 E. Main, Norman and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday each week.


Steve Hare (center) and Justin Lenhart — Curator of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame (far left) — with Norman High students

More about Steve Hare

Norman-based artist Steve Hare works primarily in acrylics across multiple techniques. He chooses various sizes of dry wall taping knives over traditional brushes as his primary instruments of choice. Through creative color mixing, Steve employs bold color combinations on canvas when creating his abstract bases.

A sports enthusiast personally and professionally, Steve blended his artistic skills with his experiences and connections, bringing about a perfect marriage of his two passions.

Steve’s evolution into representational abstract allowed him to introduce another element to this union and extend the range of his talents even further. His use of subjects such as Jim Thorpe allow Steve to challenge the boundaries of sports art – utilizing his technique to tell stories, which explore the depths of movement and composition.

Steve also explores two additional techniques within this exhibit, text art and pen/ink illustrations. Words are powerful tools. This series of text is aimed at the words, phrases, and quotes that shaped Jim Thorpe’s path. The Breaking Barriers suite of black and white illustrations capture Jim Thorpe in the simplest form, personally and professionally.

Firehouse Art Center Welcomes Exhibit Born From International Collaboration This Fall

On display from September 14th – November 4th, Waking Up by Maria Cristina Mercado and Qvetzal is an international collaborative exhibition between the Firehouse Art Center and the Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario De La Costa, Puerto Vallarta, Jal., Mexico. On September 10th at 2-4:00 PM, both artists will appear on a discussion panel during the Pioneer Library’s event ¡Celebracion! Culture, Tradition, and Community at the Norman Central Library. On September 12th at 3:00 PM, they will give a public lecture for the OU School of Visual Art. An exhibition opening reception will be held Thursday, September 14th, at 5:30 PM. This reception will feature authentic Mexican food provided by Pepe Delgados. The exhibition will close on November 4th in conjunction with the creation of a new mural in Lions Park by Narcisco Arguelles. All these events are free and open to the public.

The Firehouse’s Executive Director/Curator Andy Couch said, “We are so grateful to host Maria and Qvetzal. The arts community here has been so kind and welcoming to our guests.” Waking Up will showcase the contrasting styles of the two artists. One is intimate and austere, and the other evokes an awakening from the outside. Both artists and producing murals for the Firehouse during their residency. Waking Up is an invitation to make our days a daily exercise in living life with passion.

The Firehouse Gallery is located at 444 South Flood Avenue in Norman. Hours are from 10:00 AM –  5:00 PM Monday – Friday and 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM Saturday. For additional information on the Waking Up exhibition, contact the Firehouse Art Center at 329-4523 or visit www.normanfirehouse.com.

Call for Artists: Gallery of Norman Artists in the City of Norman Development Center

The Norman Arts Council, on behalf of the City of Norman, is seeking submissions from Norman, OK-based artists for a rotating gallery wall in the new Development Center as part of the City Hall Campus. This gallery will be installed across from the new mural set for the interior of the Development Center, making for a full corridor celebrating Norman’s own art and creativity.

The exhibition will run from October 25, 2023 through April 30, 2024. This is a juried exhibition and selected artists will be notified by September 30, 2023

Submissions are welcomed by visual artists in any two-dimensional medium who:

  • Live or work in Norman, OK

  • Are over age 18

  • NOTE: There will be a call for proposals in Spring of 2024 for a Student Exhibition in the same space that will be open to Norman students Grades K-12

The deadline to submit is September 22, 2023 at 11:59 p.m.

Submission Guidelines:

  • Artwork must be framed and/or ready to hang with two hanging points on the back, ideally D-rings

  • Artists may submit up to two works of art for consideration, each must be a separate submission form

  • Maximum size is 48” x 48”

  • Total number of works selected will be determined by the selection committee

  • All submissions must include a one-paragraph statement of the work

  • Works on paper must be framed under glass

  • Artwork over 25 pounds will not be considered

The Norman Arts Council will process any art sales from the exhibit. Sold works will remain on exhibit through the end of the exhibition. NAC will retain a 30% commission on any sold works.

All selected work must be delivered to MAINSITE, 122 East Main Street between October 3 and October 14, 2023 during regular business hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday. Work must be delivered ready to exhibit. Any work deemed not ready to hang, may be omitted from the exhibit.

Norman Arts Council Publishes Annual Report for FY22-23

Did you know that — thanks to the voter approved increase on the hotel tax — Norman Arts is now granting out nearly $500,000 to over two dozen local arts organizations?

Or that 44 Norman students received awards amounting to almost $15,000 from Norman Arts to attend the arts education experience of their choosing last year?

That 84 artists were able to showcase their work at MAINSITE from July 2022 through June 2023?

And twice as many artists, artisans and vendors register to showcase and sell their wares at 2nd Friday Art Walks now compared to 2019?

There’s been a lot of positive growth in the Norman Arts community over the past fiscal year, and that momentum looks well positioned for the months and years ahead! Understand more about what Norman Arts does and how it does it by giving a look at our annual report, now published on our website and available to download here!