Public art represents art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. By integrating into community spaces like public libraries, public art is uniquely accessible. It can exist in many forms, including but not limited to:
The pieces of art at our libraries are varied. Some serve a function, express a theme, or commemorate important people and places. Some serve as landmarks. Some are integrated into a building while others are distinct works.
This page will be updated to include more pieces of art at Wichita Public Library locations as we collect information about them.
Acrylic on canvas
Donated by the artist to the Rockwell Branch Library. This work was apparently inspired by the 1930 John Marin painting Storm Over Taos.
Consisting of an interactive network of suspended avian forms, which contrasts timeless cycles with irreversible change, it juxtaposes our technological advances with the historical cycles of Wichita's past – the land, wildlife, industry, and migrations of the Native American Peoples.
The colors and sizes represent the following avian/bird types which correspond with activity in distinct sections of the library:
The migrations patterns give homage to the recorded migrations of the Native American tribes who traveled between what is now referred to as the Arkansas River and Wichita Falls. These include the Wichita People and their affiliated tribes the Waco, Keechi Tawakoni, Taovayas (Tawehash) and other tribes from the region such as the Pawnee, Osage and others.
Painted steel, 99 x 99 x 35 in. Originally commissioned for Willowbend Golf Course, Big Red was donated to the City of Wichita in the 1990s and kept in storage. In early 2020, it was proposed to restore the sculpture and place it outside the Advanced Learning Library. It was installed on June 23, 2023.
From the artist: "In the early to mid-'80s, when Big Red was made, I began looking for ways to incorporate representation into my abstractions. In the following years, Big Red would evolve into the many characters that form a carousel which I call the Circus of Life. It is finally nearing completion, as you can see on my website. I feel proud that the city of Wichita owns Big Red, a seminal work that has fueled my later career by leading to the creation of the more than 50 characters that make up Circus of Life."
The Wichita Public Library Book Bus, an outreach initiative to bring library services to children and familes in areas of Wichita that don't have quick access to a physical library location, officially launches on November 4, 2023. The design of the bus, unveiled on August 2, 2023, was created by local artist Lindsey Kernodle.
John H. Seymour was a ceramic sculptor who owned and operated a studio in Connecticut. He exhibited sculptures of animals nationally. These two pieces came from a local gallery and were donated to the Westlink branch by Joe and Sandy Scott in memory of Britt Davidson Scott (2/14/1981-8/14/1981).
In the late 1960s, the firm of Oblinger-Smith prepared a study under contract with the Urban Renewal Agency of the Wichita, Kansas Metropolitan Area. The purpose of this study was "to establish general design objectives for the development of all lands within the jurisdiction of the Urban Renewal Agency affected by the Arkansas and the Little Arkansas Rivers with specific attention to the Center City Area." The study corresponded to the start of Wichita's second century as a city in 1969-70.
A smaller, colorless version of this image appeared in the Oblinger-Smith publication "The River Corridor." That publication, prepared in November 1968, called for several changes including an amphitheatre to be built at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers, a new sports complex at the site of Lawrence Stadium, and some form of sky tram (not pictured) to transport people between the amphitheatre, the sports complex, and potentially Old Cowtown Museum.
Approaching the building, there is a small plaza area with an early American quilt design created in paving bricks. Across from the small plaza in front of the entrance is a semi-circular façade wall with a doorway through the center. On either side of the doorway are two standing stone sculptures indicative of Mayan culture. The semi-circular wall is painted a bright golden yellow with an intricate brick red Aztec design painted on it.
The project designer was Raymond Olais, Albert Martinez was the muralist, and the two steles were created by Conrad Snider. The mural was repainted in 2016 by art maintenance contractor Jason Lonergan.
48" x 48", acrylic, tar, acid etch, rust, pencil on steel
Created as a response to the art in the remodeled Chester I. Lewis Reflection Park, this work refers to multiple maps articulating the ongoing legacy of housing discrimination in Wichita and specific locations related to the actions Chester I. Lewis took against discriminatory laws and policies in the city in the 1950s-1970s. The artist describes the work in greater detail on his website.
Bronze sculpture
This sculpture was donated by the family of former Wichitan Jon Aksamit then installed at the Rockwell Branch Library in June 2008. The plaque reads: "In Loving Memory of Jon A. Aksamit / A Son, A Brother, A Friend. / 1956-2007"
John H. Seymour was a ceramic sculptor who owned and operated a studio in Connecticut. He exhibited sculptures of animals nationally. This original piece shows two dolphins at play.
The plaque on the sculpture's base reads: "From ancient times, dolphins have been special friends to children. In 1996, this statue was dedicated to the memory of Korby Kathleen Park, 1986-1994."
24" x 36", mixed media.
This work includes the Maya Angelou quotation, "My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style."
In 2020, Kyle Ellison, Executive Director of Real Men, Real Heroes, proposed the installation of a mural on the north façade of the Maya Angelou Northeast Branch. Paying homage to Maya Angelou, the mural includes Angelou's likeness and words, used with permission from her estate.
The mission of Real Men, Real Heroes is to empower youth to build strong communities, and in support of that mission, area youth assisted with the project. "I believe [Maya Angelou] was a piece of art, and her work was art. So, we wanted to tie them all together and represent her. She was a light, a light to other people, and the Black community," said project coordinator Tiayla Maholmes, as quoted in The Community Voice.
Shirley Harrison was active in Wichita politics, serving as a precinct committeewoman. She was a member of the first Wichita River Festival committee and helped start the Black Arts Festival. She worked with many community organizations, including the Urban League and the American Legion. She participated in numerous sit-ins and marches, including the August 27, 1983 March on Washington. Shirley learned to sew and quilt from her grandmother. Shirley's two favorite quilts were called "How Hard They Worked" and "Celebration."
An American flag with the Pledge of Allegiance printed over pages from The First Reader by Clara B. Baker, a book of illustrated fairytales and nursery rhymes originally printed in the U.S. in the 1920s that continued to be printed through at least 1936. The page in the upper left corner of the painting, featuring the flag and Pledge of Allegiance, apparently was the very first page in the book.
In 2018, William Counter had an exhibition at CityArts called "Red Stripe." The show featured "mass media objects like magazines, LP covers, and paperback books as inspiration for his paintings," as described by Curt Clonts for KMUW.
Canadian artist Mark Summers began his full-time freelance illustrator career in 1978. His works emphasize the scratchboard technique, which involves using sharp tools to etch into a thin layer of white China clay that is coated with black India ink. Summers began working with Barnes & Noble in 1989, creating portraits of famous authors that would be used on tote bags and framed inside stores. His work has appeared in various publications, including Rolling Stone, Newsweek, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, and Time. This picture has been at the library since at least 2010.
Mark Summers scratchboard demonstration video
In 1884, John Edward Petrie married Adeline Bruce and moved to Wichita, where he founded the Petrie's clothing store. His sons, Charles Judson and Richard Bruce Petrie, owned the business by 1923. In a Wichita Eagle report about the store's closing, it was written that a young J. E. Petrie "survived Quantrill's raid" on Lawrence in 1863. R. B. Petrie's first wife, Marguerite Smith, died in 1957. According to his obituary in the Wichita Eagle-Beacon, at the time of his death he was married to Annabelle Valerius Petrie (d. 1990), whose name features prominently on the artwork's plaque.
This artwork was unveiled at a reception at the Central Library on September 11, 1978. The sculpture had been displayed in the foyer of the former Central Library until being moved to the Advanced Learning Library in 2018.
Steel rod, sheet metal, solder, acrylic paint with hardening protective coat, 12 x 6 x 6 ft. The mobile sculpture is comprised of approximately 130 pieces of painted shapes suspended on steel rods.
"To Waltner, this explosion of color (and its fitting name), pays homage to a public library's unconditional acceptance of its patrons. No matter who we are, where we've been, or what we are aiming to achieve when entering a library, we are accepted and welcomed. We are invited to seek the knowledge offered freely from a library’s shelves, unburdened by society's expectant gaze. The inspiration for this mobile came to John as he watched one of the Bethel Choir's winter concerts. There, a line from one of the songs struck him: 'Your true colors are beautiful.'" (from the artist's website)
Original held at the Wichita Art Museum: gouache on illustration board, 40 3/4 x 62 inches. Print 894/1500.
Bosin's stepson, David Simmonds, wrote in Blackbear Bosin: Keeper of the Indian Spirit, "In February 1965 the Wichita Art Museum hosted its first Blackbear Bosin show, which included 24 paintings. Blackbear was commissioned by Henry A. Humphrey to do a painting showing the relationship of the Indian people and Wichita. Blackbear completed Wichita, My Son for Humphrey, who then donated the piece to the Wichita Art Museum."
