Now through March 31, 2025, you can see life-size sculptures which have been strategically placed throughout historic downtown Plant City by the Arts Council of Plant City. The sculptures were created by J. Seward Johnson.
The sculpture exhibition will display 10 sculptures of Johnson’s Celebrating the Familiar collection. Celebrating the Familiar provides a sculptural commentary on daily life, presenting viewers with realistic bronze sculptures. The works reflect ordinary, everyday tasks and activities. They are eye-catching and call attention to life’s simple pleasures. Johson’s sculptures explore moments that are familiar, personal and distinctly human.
The Plant City exhibition is located throughout downtown historic Plant City. The statues and their locations include Hats Off at Bruton Memorial Library, No Way! at the north entrance of city hall, Forever Marilyn at Reynolds and Collins streets, Calling Girl at the corner of West Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and South Evers Street, Tied Up at South Evers Street and West J Arden Mays Boulevard, Embracing Peace at McCall Park at Collins Street, Down to Earth at Unity Park, Getting Down at the South Depot parking lot, A Memorable Date at the Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum and Out to Lunch at McCall Park at Collins Street.
Gilbert Gott, coordinator of the Sculptures Committee, said, “The Arts Council of Plant City started the sculpture exhibit at the inspiration of local pharmacist Myrle Henry, who first saw them on display in Gainesville in 2012. We arranged and added that exhibition to the Smithsonian Exhibition the Plant City Photo Archives was also displaying. We have since found that Johnson was correct in that he believed strongly in the ability of these sculptures to have a meaningful effect on those who view them.”
Gott added, “It is amazing what effect these sculptures have. People pose with them, put their children in the arms of the sculpture for a photo and just relate to the bronze figures like old friends. The exhibition is public art, but it is not considered fine art, and there is no attempt to educate the viewers except for the viewers to also celebrate the familiar. These sculptures are the people around you, the everyday people; they are just like you and your neighbors.”
For more information, please visit www.plantcityarts.com.
