Art in the Park - Hampton Park

Art in the Parks, Hampton Park, Charleston, SC

I had read about new art installations at Hampton Park so made that my walk destination this morning. I found all four of the pieces along the side of the walking path. It's a colorful start. I am ready for more! I am pleased to read that we may get more art along the Greenway and Bike Way as well. 

These were designed by art Joseph Dreher who worked with local students and the Boys and Girls Club to create the portraits. See the Charleston City Paper for more details. 

Plant Vitae, an installation featuring sculptures engraved with local children's drawings, maps of Charleston, and images of plant life, is now on display on the southern edge of Hampton Park, along Mary Murray Drive. The installation is part of the Art in the Parks program created by the Charleston Parks Conservancy in collaboration with Redux Contemporary Art Center and the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs.
The four large-scale pieces in Plant Vitae are made from wood and transparent cast acrylic, created by Georgia-based artist Joseph Dreher a.k.a. JOEKINGATL. Dreher worked with local students from schools near Hampton Park, as well as the Boys and Girls Club, to create the portraits found in the final pieces.
In a press release Dreher says, “People are my primary interest and it is my appreciation for people that informs so much of my creative work. My work is always multidimensional because I see a world where people are not flat. They are not obstacles, or heroes, or rogues, or saints. They are people — dimensional and deep. There are no strangers in your world when you meet people fully prepared to accept who they are.”