Second sculpture installed in Hannibal
HANNIBAL, Mo. (KHQA) — For the second time in less than a month, the city known for its murals has installed a second sculpture adding to the charm of America's Hometown.
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The Liberté was installed on Monday on a base on Hannibal’s newly redeveloped riverfront.
It's part of the Sculpture on the Move program, which is a partnership between the Hannibal Arts Council and Hannibal Parks & Recreation.
The artist, Chris Wubbena, drove the 10-feet tall, stainless-steel sculpture to Hannibal from his home in Cape Girardeau, Mo., where he is a tenured professor of sculpture at Southeast Missouri State University.
Liberté comes to Hannibal after most recently being on display in Chicago’s River North area as part of Chicago’s Public Art Program. Wubbena currently has public art sculptures in eleven different communities in Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Mississippi.
Liberté features a brushed stainless-steel structure topped by a graffiti and stenciled metal monolith with imagery representing the environment, French-inspired imagery and imagery related to family and the artist’s own personal experiences. The true meaning of Liberté is meant to be interpreted by the viewer.
Liberté was completed in this style to reflect the immediate need to express thoughts right here, right now," Wubbena, "Inspired by classical figurative sculpture along with geologic and Neolithic rock formations, Liberté takes a closer look at the individual, the person, and the weight they assume.
Wubbena holds an MFA in Art with a Sculpture Emphasis from San Francisco State University, and a BFA in Art with a Sculpture Emphasis and a Creative Writing Minor from the University of Northern Iowa. His work has been exhibited in outdoor and indoor exhibitions throughout the United States.
“It’s great to see communities the size of Hannibal getting into public art in the form of sculptures,” he said.
The Hannibal Arts Council joined The Creative Communities Alliance in order to be among 20 communities eligible to participate in the rotating sculpture loan program and choose among more than 150 sculptures. The works are original pieces by regional and national artists.
Two more sculptures will be installed in Hannibal this summer, both by native Hannibalian Nick Willett.
