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Washington Evening Journal
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‘Better View in 2021’
‘2020 in 2020’ Fairfield art project reborn a year later
FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield Art Association has unveiled its annual summer downtown art installation for public viewing, an eyeglasses theme called a “Better View in 2021.”
Seventeen artists are participating in the exhibit, where they decorated a pair of large wooden eyeglasses and placed them in one of the garden nodes around the square and up Main Street to the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center.
Fairfield Art Association’s volunteer director Suzan Kessel said the eyeglasses theme was supposed to be for 2020 and was to be called “2020 in 2020,” referring to perfect vision. However, she said artists were not willing to participate due to the pandemic, so the show was skipped last year but the theme was carried into this year.
Kessel is participating in this year’s exhibit with her own piece of art. She decorated her pair of eyeglasses to look like a butterfly since she thought that the eyeglasses’ shape already closes resembles a butterfly. Her piece is outside Revelations Cafe.
“Pam Landers has one with eyeballs that actually move,” Kessel said. “A couple others are pretty funky compared to what we usually get.”
Artists decorated their eyeglasses in many different ways such as mosaic stained glass, paint, fun assemblages of materials from old tools and yard items, to items representing each state in the country.
“It is always amazing to see how creative the artworks are as they come in,” Kessel said. “FAA provided the large wooden eyeglasses in four shapes — cat eye, octagon, round and rectangle, along with some guidelines and said, 'Get creative.'”
The pieces of art were unveiled during Fairfield First Fridays earlier this month, and will remain up until the September Fairfield First Fridays on Sept. 3. Members of the public have a chance to bid on the art in a silent auction beginning in August and ending on the September Fairfield First Fridays.
Participating artists include: Mike Pech, Rolf Erickson, Kathy Tollenaere, Josie Hannes, Collen Matson, Curt Swarm, Cindy Ballou, Wendy Stegall, Brett and Bonnie Hendericks, Axis Vision, Mendy McAdams and Lindsay Bauer from the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center, Pamela Landers, Freya Gilrain, JoAnn Katz, Meghann Kurth, Jewell McDonald and Suzan Kessel.
Kessel said this is either the 12th or 13th year the art association has put on a public summer art project.
Suzan Kessel stands inside her artwork on North Main Street in Fairfield that’s part of the Fairfield Art Association’s summer art installation. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Fairfield Art Association volunteer director Suzan Kessel stands beside her artwork on North Main Street in Fairfield that’s part of the association’s summer art installation. This year, artists were asked to decorate a pair of large wooden eyeglasses. Kessel decorated hers to resemble a butterfly coming out of a cocoon. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Joey Katz and Anne Walton created this piece of art titled “A Binoculated View of Space Debris” for the Fairfield Art Association’s summer art installation in downtown Fairfield. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Tree Neal designed this piece of art titled “Eyes to the Skies” for the Fairfield Art Association’s summer art installation. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
This piece of art titled “Cheeky Tiki” was made by Josie and Lyle Hannes for the Fairfield Art Association’s summer art installation in downtown Fairfield. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Curt Swarm’s artwork titled “Spect-O-Tools” can be seen in downtown Fairfield as part of the Fairfield Art Association’s summer art installation. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
