'Quill' sculpture gets permanent home on Broadway

By the end of the month, the sculptures along Broadway will be finding new homes, but one of the larger pieces, "Quill," may not be moving very far.

Jon K. Rust, the publisher of the Southeast Missourian and co-president of Rust Communications, announced early this week the sculpture, a part of the 2014 Cape Girardeau Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit, will remain on Broadway.

"We were impressed by the sculptures in the first year's show, but 'Quill' was our favorite," Rust said.

He represents a group of family members who donated money to the City Parks and Recreation Foundation so it could purchase the piece.

"Part of our motivation is that we've always liked how the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis purchases artwork from its shows to serve as beautiful, permanent mementos, which add to the artistic experience there," Rust said. "This purchase, hopefully, will also serve as motivation for sculptors to recognize that there is a Cape Girardeau market for their artwork."

Julia Thompson, the city parks director, said plans are to place the statue on the 300 block of Broadway, and the Cape Girardeau City Council is expected to accept the gift officially at its meeting Monday.

"Quill" is the creation by Dan Perry, an artist from Nebraska now teaching at the University of Northern Iowa. He has exhibited artwork at numerous galleries across the country, as well as at various selected group exhibitions.

He describes his piece as representing "the power and strength it takes to get a message through. Persistence is the overlying thing." Rust said it will be a permanent placement in downtown Cape Girardeau.

As part of the sale of "Quill," the artist will provide 10 percent of the sale price to the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, which helps organize the sculpture exhibit. A purchase price was not released, but the list price on the arts council website was $13,000.

All the sculptures from the 2014 exhibit are being removed to make way for this year's show, Thompson said. The unveiling of the new sculptures will take place next week, with a public reception to be at 6 p.m. April 10 at the Vasterling Suites courtyard at the corner of Broadway and Fountain Street.

"I hope this will be a catalyst for future interest in sculptures throughout our city," Cape Girardeau Mayor Harry Rediger said.

smaue@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

Broadway, Cape Girardeau