“Hour Town” has been chosen by the Downtown Racine Corporation as the name for this summer's public art project, which will display large decorated wall clocks downtown.More than 1,165 entries (an all-time high) were submitted in the Name the Event Contest. The winning name was submitted by two separate individuals – Sherri Myers Wray and Don Schmidt who are both from Racine. Each will each receive a $50 Downtown gift certificate.
DRC staff said “Hour Town” is a unique, crisp slogan that could generate interest and invoke feelings of fun for the family.
Sherri Myers Wray, with the help of her friend Jude Poplawski, also designed the logo for this year's project. (Last year, Wray won another DRC contest, naming the three barrel sculptures on Sixth Street -- Cautious Clay, Monument Ali and Gorge Foreman.)
“It is only a matter of time before we will be using many of the slogan suggestions,” said Terry Leopold, DRC’s special events coordinator, wasting no...um, time. "The clock is ticking and we are in the process of artist proposal selections. When summertime rolls around, Downtown Racine will be treated to the art of time. If this contest was any indication, "Hour Town" has proved that Racine has time to make a difference."
This is the 9th year of public art in Downtown Racine. Artists will decorate the 28” fiberglass clocks which will be on display Downtown from Memorial Day through Labor Day. On Sept. 11, the clocks will be sold via a public auction.
Clock sponsors are still being sought. The cost is $375 and all donations are tax deductible. Sponsorship packets are available at the DRC office at 425 Main St., or online.
It's a clever name and should inspire mirth among people who know about Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" without having seen or read the play. However, anyone who's attended a performance or perused the script will inform you that "Our Town" isn't a comedy. After my Mother sat through a production of "Our Town," she wept for hours.
ReplyDeleteCandidly, I'm amazed at the selection of a name which refers to anything penned by Thornton Wilder. As I recall, the man had a morbid streak in his character. Just ask any poor soul whose professors made him slog through Wilder's "The Bridge at San Luis Rey."
ReplyDeleteDon't take my word for it. Please read Wilder's "Our Town." A name derived form the title of the play WON'T inspire thoughts of family fun. Just pray for the sake of this art project and Downtown Racine that few, if any, prospective visitors-cum-customers have actually examined Thornton Wilder's grim magnum opus.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I may be unjust, I suspect that Wax-influence steered the judges in the direction of a name taken from an American classic. (The House of wax's devotion to jazz and pop music, among other bits of Yankee-panky, is notorious.) All of this may be a commendable display of patriotism and pride in our culture. Even so, I wish that the responsible parties had thoroughly studied "Our Town" and Thornton Wilder's works in general prior to making their selection.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't believe me and you're reluctant to read the play, look up "Our Town" on Wikipedia. It's depressing as hell. (Why nobody checked this is a mystery. One thing's certain: it's not a play about family fun!)
ReplyDeleteDarn it,please read that depressing play. The heroine (Emily) dies in childbirth and returns to earth from the spirit world to relive her twelfth birthday. Then she heads back to the cemetery to join the rest of the dead. That logo featuring a clock-cum-artist's-palette ought to have blood and tears, not paint, dripping from it onto the letters.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't anybody study American literature anymore? "Our Town" is a thoroughly grim monsterpiece, the work of a singularly morbid man. (If Racine were Baltimore, something creepy would be suitable in order to honor the author who made that city famous, E.A.Poe. However, Racine is a rundown Rustbelt company town. The last thing our moribund municipality requires is an art project punningly named after a weird play.)
ReplyDeleteActually, yeah, I was in a production of "Our Town"...
ReplyDeleteIt was not what you'd call a "happy play" - but at least the Act III discussion about "living life to the fullest - before it's too late" gives some semblance of insight and hope....
True. However an art project named after a pun on the title of that miserable play won't entice families to visit our city and, possibly, drop some dough Downtown.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the winners!
ReplyDeleteAmen! However, let's pray that prospective visitors to our Lakeside Looneybin aren't familiar with Wilder's wacko works in general and "Our Town" in particular.
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ReplyDeleteI'm glad that at least the individual who was in a production of "Our Town" sees the play's inspirational aspect.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it may end tragically, "Our Town" is not meant to be a morbid play by any means. Yes, Emily dies in childbirth and is taken away from her family and her life. But the point of the play isn't simply that she's dead and miserable; the play's message comes through in Emily's recognition of the small moments in life she never took notice of until it was too late. The play is meant to show us that those elements of our day to day lives which seem mundane are actually unique and special - they are also irreplaceable.
I saw this play at the Madison Repertory Theatre when I was a senior in high school (I am now a senior Theatre Arts major at UW-Parkside) and its message hit me in a way that no piece of theatre ever had before that time. It certainly made me think twice about the way I perceived the small town I come from, and serves as the impetus for my exploration of theatre as a career.
The play itself may be tragic, but Wilder's aim is give the audience the opportunity to reflect on themselves and understand their surroundings in a new way. Isn't the purpose of all art to make us appreciate life in ways we hadn't thought of before? "Our Town" is about just that - our town. No matter what town you're from, big or small, its impact on your life is unimaginable, and we cannot forget that and let it slip away before it's too late.
Well I'm not so familiar with the script "Our Town" but I am really impressed with the art logo! That artist Jude Poplawski, is surely having her "moment in time"! Good work Jude!
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