The City of Fort Worth is preparing to unveil its latest public art display titled "Unfolding Time," with a dedication ceremony set for October 18 at the Fort Worth Public Library's Northwest Branch. The display features two eye-catching sculptures positioned on roundabouts along Marine Creek Parkway, integrating art into daily commutes and local landscaping. According to a report by the City of Fort Worth, the pieces are part of the Fort Worth Public Art Program and aim to engage the public in a conversation about time and community.
Michelle Richardson, the project manager for "Unfolding Time," described the endeavor, pointing to the unique opportunity presented by the roundabouts to create a dual narrative through art. She told the City of Fort Worth that bringing in two artists for the project was a pivotal decision, allowing for individual works to engage with one another effectively. The artwork, with two distinct pieces titled "One Way" and "A Very Long Now," came to life through a blend of community input and the creative interpretations of artists Leticia Bajuyo and Alicia Eggert.
Local members contributing to the project's planning stressed that their community was burgeoning, a locale with a future still on the writing desk. Richardson related this sentiment, noting that the sculpture aims to capture the spirit of emerging narratives and chronosequential movement. "One Way," adorned with 24 steel doilies, pays homage to directional signage and the natural heritage of northwest Fort Worth. On the flip side, "A Very Long Now" is a towering assemblage, signaling time's expansion with its 60 aluminum "NOW"s, as Richardson explained to the City of Fort Worth.
Embedded within the designs of the sculptures, meticulous care was taken in setup—explained by Richardson as a complex task of subterranean engineering, demanding years of planning with multiple city stakeholders. With a splash of a whopping 24 different colors, "One Way" was installed overnight to align with the shifting light patterns, creating a varied visual experience throughout the day. Symbolizing the unison of a community in motion, it reflects the continuum of time, just as "A Very Long Now" captures the instantaneity of the present for multiple observers at once. All this hard, underground work for the sculptures has captured both a sense of movement and the essence of time's infinite dance through shadow and form.
