Art installation downtown takes Fayetteville 'to the moon'
An art installation in downtown Fayetteville aims to help people look beyond themselves.
Between the Headquarters Library and Segra Stadium at Festival Park Plaza, "Fayetteville to the Moon," is an interactive art sculpture by Virginia artist William Bennett.
The art installation is made of wood, aluminum, mirrored plastic, solar-powered light and stone.
The sculpture, which was installed earlier this month, depicts a circular drum-like that anchors the piece to the ground. From the base is a ladder that leads to a crescent moon. Around the piece is a walkway for viewers to walk around and look inside the center depicting the Pisces, Virgo, Aquarius and Pegasus constellation.
Viewers can interact with the piece by rotating the structure.
Ideas of Freedom: Fayetteville art series aims to highlight the Black experience
Bennett said the piece is part of an ongoing series he has of interactive sculptures.
"These are all sculptures that are interactive and have moving parts and invite the viewer to be part of the sculpture in a way rather than something that's solely to be looked at from afar," he said. "I like to think of the viewer as both the viewer/participant."
The purpose of "Fayetteville to the Moon," according to Bennett is to take people outside of themselves.
"The sculpture points to something outside of ourselves to the moon, to the stars, to the planets," he said. "We are in Fayetteville, we are here but we're part of a large world and so this sculpture points to it."
To Bennett, the piece is more poetic.
"It brings together different ideas and images," he said. "Some basic things that are kind of important to me is that there's a connection to the earth and the sky."
The art installation was presented on Jan. 4 in partnership with the Fayetteville/Cumberland County Arts Council and the North Carolina Arts Council.
Support local journalism with a subscription to The Fayetteville Observer. Click the "subscribe'' link at the top of this article.
Bennett recently retired from teaching sculpture at the University of Virginia after 42 years. He said he would like to focus on doing more public art pieces.
"I really like the idea of working in a public space," he said. "There's an exchange from me to the public, and it's not hidden away in a gallery; it's not hidden away in a private home or a museum but it's out for everybody. Anybody can see it."
Bennett said he hopes the piece is memorable to its viewers.
"I hope it maybe it reminds us of our past and of the time when weren't so tied to our screens, and it's a chance to physically interact with something that somebody has made and I hope they sense the care," he said.
Staff writer Akira Kyles can be reached at akyles@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: 'Fayetteville to the Moon' art sculpture added to downtown
