By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — Two large sculptures have been selected for installation in Westport parks to serve as welcoming symbols to town, as well as emblems of Westport’s artistic legacy.

Placement of the sculptures “Passage” by Niki Ketchman in Pasacreta Park, on Riverside Avenue, and “Windows” by Carole Eisner in Stroffolino Park, at Saugatuck Avenue and Charles Street, was approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission on Wednesday night.

Both sites were selected to be a “welcome point into Westport for public art,” Kathleen Bennewitz, town curator for the Arts Advisory Committee, told the commission.

The sculptures are on loan to the town for five years, with costs for acquiring, installing, transporting and maintaining the sculptures paid for by the Arts Advisory Committee, Bennewitz said. The committee also pays to insure the sculptures, she said, when Parks and Recreation Commission member Alec Stevens asked whether vandalism to the sculptures would be covered by the town’s policy.

Vandalism costs would be covered under the arts committee’s policy, Bennewitz said. “Art insurance offers more coverage than regular insurance … but we’ve never had vandalism on any public sculpture in town.”

The only damage to town sculptures occurred when a car hit the Minuteman sculpture on Compo Road South, and another time when children drew with easily removable chalk on the statue, Bennewitz recalled.

The sculpture “Passage,” created by the Ketchman in 1991, is made of aluminum, steel wire and steel rods, and weighs 250 pounds. Ketchman has been a Westport resident for 40 years, and has shown her work in 25 solo exhibitions.

The five-year budget to place “Passage” in Pasacreta Park totals $7,250, which includes labor to install the artwork, $1,000 to remove it and transport it back to the artist in five years, and a $1,000 annual rental fee to the artist. Also included in the total costs are insurance costs.

The Parks and Recreation Department staff will dig a trench needed to situate the sculpture and provide grounds maintenance around the sculpture. Any direct maintenance of the sculpture itself, if needed, is paid for by the arts committee.

“Windows,” a much larger and heavier sculpture made of painted, welded steel, has a higher project budget of $32,000 because of the sculpture’s weight and installation expenses, Bennewitz said.

The concrete footings for “Windows” will cost $8,000, plus $1,000 for labor to install it, with transportation to and from Stroffolino Park about $8,000 each way. The loan fee paid to the artist is the same as for the “Passage” sculpture at $1,000 per year. The “Windows” sculpture won’t be installed until spring after the ground thaws.

“Windows,” created in 1991, is one of the many works by Eisner using scrap and recycled metal. She has shown her work all over the region and in New York City.

The last installation of artwork on town property took place in 2021 when “Rocks, Paper and Scissors,” by Kevin Box, was installed in front of the Westport Library, according to Nancy Diamond, co-chair of the Arts Advisory Committee.

“We’re really in gear to beautify our parks and keep Westport a town that supports the arts,” Diamond said.

Parks and Recreation Commission members said they appreciate the work of the arts panel, approving installation of both sculptures unanimously. 

“These are nice selections. I like both pieces, both fit in the areas and the locations that you picked at entryways into town,” said David Floyd, the commission chairman.

Commission member Elaine Whitney agreed. “This fits in with our town’s artistic heritage,” she said.

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman and has taught journalism at New York and Southern Connecticut State universities.