Opinion: Sculpture for North Amherst Library Languishes in Committee

I have been involved in the Mill River Project in North Amherst as a team member of the steering committee, and now serve as a board member of the District One Neighborhood Association (DONA). Beginning in 2021–22, the two groups began working with artist Catherine Stryker on a proposal for a site-specific outdoor sculpture on the grounds of the North Amherst Library. At that time, the new addition to the library was under construction, and many historic horseshoes were found when the foundation was dug, leading Stryker to research the history of the site and discover that there had been a blacksmith’s shop there in the 19th century.

Stryker’s proposal for a sculpture to be called “For Want of a Nail” consisted of a horse’s head made out of horseshoes to be mounted on a steel armature. A small exhibit about the origin of the sculpture was to be erected inside the library. The proposal received an Amherst Cultural Council grant in 2023. Since then, however, it has languished, with the Public Art Commission making little or no progress on it.

The town’s Public Art Commission (see here and here) is a great asset to our town. Amherst was in fact, the second town in the Commonwealth to set up public funding for arts projects back in 2017 before the town changed from representative Town Meeting to a Town Council form of local government. Amherst residents have supported a wide range of projects though the Percent for Art bylaw that requires 0.5% of the capital costs of eligible municipal construction projects budgeted at $1 million or more to fund public art. Funding is to be used to acquire and maintain public art, such as murals, sculptures, and mosaics for public buildings and spaces. The bylaw aims to increase the presence of art in the community and foster cultural vitality. It was re-adopted by the Town Council in 2020.

It also helps fund programs like Electrify Amherst, hiring artists to “art up” utility boxes, covering them with paintings featuring people or ideas celebrated here. Based on past support for other art projects, one would think that the commission would support and help manage the “For Want of a Nail” project, which has local historic significance for North Amherst. But the project has foundered, as the commissioners admitted at their last meeting.

It seems perverse to me that the commission has stalled in issuing the go-ahead for this sculpture. Hilda Greenbaum, representing Stryker (who could not attend), asked the commission, “One committee gave her money more than two years ago to design a sculpture out of artifacts found on the site. [She] offered to make this wonderful sculpture for the residents of North Amherst, and she was approved, and got the money from the Amherst Cultural Council. Why is it not built yet? It’s not fair to somebody who’s offering their talents and their time that she should get such a runaround.”

Commission Chair Tom Warger replied, “One committee gave [the money] to her [but]  the whole concept of public art is that the town needs to have a certain control over what it accepts as public art, and takes possession of, and maintains as public art. Conversations need to be had around that. The commission has also had some reservations about the artistic merit of the project. We will likely need to bring this back onto our agenda for a fresh look and to give Miss Stryker the opportunity to address the concerns that we have.” He suggested that Stryker thought she just needed a check-off from the commission, but the project also needs approval of the siting, and a maintenance plan, as well as a review by the Design Review Board.

Warger also mentioned a need to discuss placement issues and liability concerns, saying that if the sculpture is damaged, it would be the town’s responsibility to restore it and if a child was injured by climbing on it, the town would be liable.

Hasn’t the commission sorted through these considerations in past projects they have administered, such as the steel sculpture at Kendrick Park by Matt Evald, Johnson, the Amherst Community History mural by David Fichter at the West Cemetery, the brick tile series by Judith Inglese and Helena Dooley Mehta on Main Street, and the conversing sculptures of Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost by Michael Verzi near Sweetser Park?. 

The commission is apparently working on policies and procedures related to accepting public art. For now, though, Commissioner Lynne Thompson said she will help move the process along by setting up an ad hoc committee to see the sculpture realized. The sculpture and exhibit have won support from the Mass. Cultural Council, the American Farriers Association, the District One Neighborhood Association, the town’s libraries, Wright Builders (who were construction managers for the expanded and renovated North Amherst Library), and the Museum of Industrial Heritage in Greenfield. In addition to the Amherst Cultural Council award, some funding still needs to be secured for the welded steel framework of the sculpture.

In a September 24 letter to Angela Mills, Executive Assistant to the Town Manager, Town Councilor Pam Rooney wrote, “A sculpture comprised of horseshoes found on the site of the North Amherst library was proposed 2 ½ years ago. The Amherst Cultural Council awarded a $945 grant for its construction/installation in January 2023!  According to the email I was sent, the artist, Catherine Stryker has had to fill out and update the Cultural Council forms every year while waiting for the Public Art Commission to render its decision on the project. Having lived in North Amherst for over six years and visited the North Amherst  library at least weekly during that time, I have been following with interest the plan for an historic walking tour of North Amherst. I loved the idea of this sculpture – representing a local, site-specific industry, a blacksmith shop – being a key component of the history tour. Representing that industry with art seems a wonderful gesture. I would urge the Public Art Committee to include this item on the next possible meeting agenda so this exciting project can move forward. Public Art does not have to be loved universally but hopefully it can excite, educate, and inspire according to each viewer.”

Greenbaum, who donated the money to build the addition to the North Amherst Library, commented, “I am not thanking you until you get it done…I don’t have much time left!”

View the recording of the most recent Public Art Commission meeting here.

Hetty Startup is an architectural historian who lives in Amherst, where she serves on the Historical Commission and works with college students. She is a frequent contributor to the Amherst Indy.