Ça Roule – Public Sculpture in Brittany!!

Thank you everyone!

Please be aware that I am continually editing this post to reflect the current and ongoing progress on physical construction, of my public art sculpture in Pont-Aven, which began, March 22, 2024 with steel delivery.  In this way, please keep your bookmark for this page, and monitor the progress of the project!!  Thank you all for the support!!

Project in Progress!!

The 11th of May marks the end of the first week of sculpture construction on site in front of the old factory.  It was quite a process, as is to be expected in public art, we had a few delays with getting power on the site, and after a bit of head scratching, I managed to rent quite possibly one of the last generators in the region.

Welding with a generator is new experience, but luckily I managed to get a powerful enough generator.  Its a good formula for welders to know for a variety of reasons, Volts x Amps = Watts, if not the least, so you can quickly know what size generator you’ll need.  Another shortcut, is 1.5 times the input voltage, but this can be misleading in my opinion, and its better to use the formula, Volts x Amps = Watts for determining welding generator sizes.

Anyway, I digress, this is was what I learned, and then I quickly got to work drilling, mounting, welding, painting, and hydrating during a mini heat wave here in Brittany.  Below, is a quick little video I put together that sums up this past week of public sculpture in Pont-Aven Brittany, including lunch…enjoy the video, and thanks for all the support.

Below, is this post with previous updates.

With the Steel delivered March 22, 2024, I set to work immediately in my studio producing the four stanchion bases that will be bolted to the concrete slab at the site.  In the photo, you can see three, orange tape capped steel upright bases, and one upside down base in the background on the welding table.  They are my own design, based on the materials provided and of course, trying to use up scrap where ever I can.  The center post in each base receives a sleeve that is the first 2m of the total 4m height of the project.

 

The Service Technique of Pont-Aven erected a very nice fence to protect the project during its construction phase.   All projects have their delays and this project secured a last minute sponsor that promised a great amount of aid to the project, and delivery of materials was postponed.  Also, more humbly, I spent a lot of energy generating the community support, thank you again to all who participated; only once the crowdfunding was done, did I have time to spend on the sequence of construction.

 

What does this mean?

I think construction could take a while.  Those of you that know, sequencing in construction is half the battle, huge savings in time, money and energy can be saved with a bit of mental energy calculating what to do 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on.  It took me 3 weeks to make the four stanchion bases.  As mentioned earlier in this post, we had some electrical delays at the site, so I hope that I’ll be able to finish steel construction inside of 4 weeks putting us into June or so.  Only once the steel work is done, can I begin bolting tires to the structure.  Weather permitting as we have been completely inundated with rain here for most of March and April here in Pont-Aven.

What follows below is a timeline of the project.

The initial crowdfunding for the project finished online November 6th, 2023, and then here locally,  March 1st, 2024.  More funding is always welcome, please feel free to contact me directly, and should another round be necessary, this page will be updated.  The first round was only for the basic materials to begin construction.  I’m so very thankful to the sponsors of this public sculpture in Pont-Aven and its a delight to share them with you.  If you haven’t been following along, please read my previous post about this project.  It really takes a community!!!  Thank you so much!!

The images below are Black & White images that will be displayed on the project site the length of the construction and exhibition.

I will create a permanent sign here in Pont-Aven to accompany the public sculpture throughout its construction, this spring 2024, and its subsequent three year exhibition, which may also be extended depending on community feedback.  Below is the text that explains the project’s ambitions.

In English, the image above says:

The artist John K. Melvin, in gratitude for the impact of Pont‐Aven on his life and his international
artistic career, wishes to create a unique sculpture, made from old tires recovered from the Belle Angèle
site, in the hope to stimulate public dialogue in Pont-Aven.

The artist hopes that through the recovered tires, the public will engage in a conversation about
circularity, ecology, pollution, responsibility and the search for solutions.

The project is made possible thanks to the generosity of local sponsors. (QR links to this page)

 

 

Going further back in time,

The 18th of December 2023, I had the first of many logistical meetings with the Service Technique of Pont-Aven.  It was a great meeting!  I’ve had quite a few meetings for public sculpture projects with cities all over the world in my career,  and have to say, that this one was really above average.  There was a real ‘can-do’ attitude amongst the managers, we agreed on everything, and collaborated on some very practical but creative solutions.

Below are some more technical images that I’ll be using now that we are really getting into the physical construction phase.  As soon as the steel structure is welded and painted, we will begin planting some phytoremediation plants inside the tires.  If all goes well, the public sculpture tire garden will be complete by Summer 2024!

Once again, a huge thank you to all who participated in Ça Roule !  To all of you who have supported my practice over the years, thank you!

I’ll keep this site up to date with progress photos.  Please feel free to bookmark and check back frequently.

 

Thanks again, and cheers.  John