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The Holter Museum of Art in Helena hosted its first “Rock the Block” Art Fair on Saturday to end the summer season with community activities and local artist showcases.
The fair began with a rededication ceremony of the Red Shift Rocker, a sculpture on the southeast lawn of the museum.
About 50 gathered Saturday near the Red Shift Rocker as the Holter’s executive director Christina Barbachano said a few words.
“I’d like to thank our board of directors and the local businesses who supported this project,” the Holter’s executive director Christina Barbachano told nearly 50 people gathered around the rocker. “And we are grateful to the Helena community for the funding that went into this.”
The Red Shift Rocker was commissioned in 2005 by Joan Holter, a major contributor to the founding of the museum in 1987. Its artist Richard Swanson specializes in geometric sculptures and first experimented with cutting shapes into paper to visualize the piece.
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“Before my piece was here, there was a different sculpture that Joan Holter didn’t like too much,” Swanson said with a laugh. “She visited my studio and liked my work. So, she went back to the board and said she wanted a new sculpture done by me.”
Helena artist Richard Swanson attended his sculpture’s rededication ceremony Saturday at the Holter Museum.
After 20 years of weathering, the team at the Holter brought local businesses to the ceremony to give the Red Shift Rocker a new coat of paint, more lighting and signage, and a new concrete slab to raise it 18 inches from the ground.
These improvements were funded through the city of Helena’s Downtown Tax Increment Financing Grant. The sculpture was refurbished by All Around Construction and Hjelm’s Auto Body.
Swanson was honored at the ceremony with an award in recognition of his sculpture.
“It’s an honor for a piece of mine to be the visual symbol of the Holter,” he said.
Barbachano and Swanson cut the ribbon on the Red Shift Rocker to celebrate its restoration.
Holter Executive Director Christina Barbachano and Helena artist Richard Swanson cut the ribbon off Swanson’s “Red Shift Rocker” at its rededication ceremony Saturday.
After the ceremony, the art fair began at 5:30 p.m. where local artists sold their pieces in booths and local food trucks offered food and drink. “Rock the Block” concluded with live music from a Helena band accompanied by street dancing.
Swanson was grateful to the Holter for appreciating his piece.
“It’s amazing to know that because of this work, the Red Shift Rocker can stand for another 20 or 30 years,” he said.
Katy McCumber is a news intern at the Helena Independent Record.
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