Escape – Sacramento Public Art (part of an occasional series)

Public art always catches my eye – but the artist’s intent or vision is not always obvious (at least to me). Escape by Gale Hart is no exception.

I recently parked at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium Garage located at H and 15 Streets and wondered about both the artist and the artist’s vision as I viewed the artwork.

The title of the collective sculpture is Escape.  The “herd” of colorful sculptures of varying sizes are animal-like – with sawhorse-like bodies, and round faces – each with a number on the flat surface.

I contacted Gale Hart the artist, and made an inquiry about vision and intent.  Hart replied that at the location assigned, the existing structure intended for pay stations for the parking garage reminded her of a stall, which prompted her to create the sawhorse-like animals.

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In a recent Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission publication Hart is quoted as saying, “No longer secured, the livestock are free to escape and avoid an unfavorable fate.  The numbers on the round faces are a correlation to the ear tags worn by factory-raised cows.  I imagine that each one in this small herd had a lucky number.”

So – there you have it.  I always find it helps my appreciation and understanding of artwork to know the artist’s vision and intent.  Do you agree?

Hart also crafted “Missing the Mark” which is located outside the Golden 1 Center.  See related post: Missing the Mark – Sacramento Public Art (part of an occasional series).

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