'Tongue' in groove: Salvaged sculpture installed downtown
A piece of Lafayette public art saved from the wrecking ball last spring has been installed in a more prominent location at a gateway into downtown Lafayette. The 8-ton cement piece called Twisted Loop, by sculptor and former UL Lafayette art professor Robert Wiggs, now sits at the confluence of Congress and 2nd streets in the traffic island between the Lafayette Public Library and the IberiaBank building. For the last three months it had waited in storage after being hoisted from the former site of the LBA Savings Bank drive-thru on Vermilion Street adjacent to the Acadiana Center for the Arts. The drive-thru was demolished to make way for a 300-seat theater expansion to the AcA.
“I think this a great example of how important it is for us in Lafayette, we have only a few pieces of historic value in this city — pieces of art that meant something to other generations — and I think it‘s important to preserve them,” said AcA Executive Director Gerd Wuestemann as workers scurried about finalizing the installation. Known affectionately as “The Tongue,” the sculpture was bolted onto a cement base by workers from the Lemoine Company, the construction company that is the general contractor for the AcA expansion and which offered to undertake the sculpture’s salvation for free. Architects Southwest also donated their services to the project while Lafayette Consolidated Government donated and prepped the site. A plaster company will come in later to refurbish the piece, and Eagle Scouts will paint it and do landscaping before a re-dedication ceremony takes place. The Downtown Development Authority was also a key player in the process. Wuestemann hailed the project as an example of how public-private partnerships can work in Lafayette. “I think it was a wonderful example of how easy things get when you have great partners that come to the table and decide it’s the right thing to do, it can’t be that difficult to make it work , and here we are.”
... written by Surpreme Leader (of the backyard) , August 28, 2009 - 08:41 am
Hey man, I thought is was a sculpture of Timothy Leary.
... written by Nostalgic and Thankful , August 28, 2009 - 12:47 pm
I remember going through the LBA drive-through with my Mom often as a young child - honking the horn as we drove off to send my Grandfather and Dad a 'howdy' while they worked in their offices across Vermilion. (I will forever associate The Tongue with Safe-T-Pops.)
I later played around it with my siblings during Festival International once the bank had closed, with its drive-through offering a shady spot for our parents and a pretend jungle for us kids.
I might have even snuck a beer hiding out behind it with friends in High School.
Our city would have lost a beautiful, unique and interesting piece of artwork that represents Downtown Lafayette's history and spirit and kicks up nostalgia in all who remember it in its original place.
Personally, I would have lost a key memory of my childhood that I can now, thanks to those involved, share with my own daughter when she visits me at my Downtown office. (except for sneaking a beer. She'll never do that.)
Much appreciated, ACA, DDA, LCG, and all else who made The Tongue a permanent fixture in our downtown landscape.
... written by Vince Miholic , August 28, 2009 - 04:05 pm
The care in executing the preservation of area culture and art is why particularly Lafayette's AcA is truly one of few true and focal centers of arts in Lousisiana.
... written by Jason D. Faulk , August 28, 2009 - 04:10 pm
It would be nice if someday it could be restored to its earlier function as a fountain. Am I mistaken? Even better for the future would be finding a way to make it more accesible than the manner in which it is located in the middle of a traffic island.
... written by citizen , August 29, 2009 - 05:05 pm
It needs to be moved from the traffic island. Some drunk driver will make our piece of history become just that.
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