Winds of Change Leaves Lasting Contribution

06/22/2006

On a warm afternoon in 2003, two women walked past a cluster of oleander bushes as they headed toward one of their favorite places - the new Visual Arts Building of The Arts Center at Okaloosa-Walton College in Niceville.

Eyeing the tall, gangly bushes in a circle on their path with a touch of disdain, Dotty Blacker of Valparaiso and the late Christian LaRoche of Niceville agreed again..."Somebody should do something else with that space".

They thought the high bushes just did not do justice to the place where each came so frequently to massage their creative spirits through painting, pottery and sculpture. Not only did they both enjoy using the arts facility, they each had helped build it with generous contributions toward its construction.

Gradually the idea to enhance the entrance of the Visual Arts building took root-the two women decided to would work together to replace the circle of common greenery with a professional sculpture. They envisioned something to invoke curiosity and contemplation; a gift to all those who visited The Arts Center complex.

"Their vision really became our vision," said OWC President Dr. Bob Richburg. "But, it was Chris LaRoche and Dotty Blacker who ran the show -- from visiting the artist's studio to checking on the sculpture's progress to overseeing its installation."

LaRoche and Blacker helped select Pensacola artist Sid Kamerman to work on the sculpture and made a joint gift to fully underwrite the commissioned artwork.

"We discovered Sid, and we both loved his work," said Blacker. Kamerman's other recent commissioned projects include a three-dimensional Star of David garden sculpture in downtown Pensacola for the Arts Council of Northwest Florida and creation of the John Mastroni Memorial Sculpture at Pensacola's City Hall. He has exhibited frequently at the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival and has major works exhibited at Rock Hard Designs in Pensacola and Monet, Monet in Grayton Beach.

Today, the 16-foot-high Winds of Change sculpture stands prominently in front of the Visual Arts Building on the OWC Niceville campus. Appearing to have freshly erupted from the earth, the sculpture connotes movement, growth and change. With its circular elements, an organic roundness comes through while contrasting with the angular rigidity of the steel materials.

"What I had in mind is geological. It is coming out of the ground. It's seemingly broken, in a state of flux, and its direction is ambiguous," said Kamerman. He said he studied the architecture of The Arts Center's buildings and the natural, wooded landscape on which the complex is laid. He created his work specifically for the site integrating some of the circular aspects of The Arts Center into its design.

LaRoche, who died suddenly in April, understood and appreciated the sculpture's dynamic effect, both physical and emotional. "It grows too...it evolves," she said during its placement at the former site of the oleander hedge. "This has been a fun thing to do."

Although the sculpture is named, the artist expressed trepidation about labeling it. "It is representational art with an abstract name. In a way, there is a danger if we name it because the name can place limitations," he said. "While a camera can take a picture of it, people don't know at first just how to look at it. This leaves it open for people to see it in their own minds." New night lighting of the sculpture will soon be in place to enhance its ever changing perspective.

Winds of Change is the second sculpture commissioned for The Arts Center. Dedicated for the center's opening in 1997, the sculpture of The Seven Dancers in the center's courtyard was designed by internationally-known Esther Wertheimer.

Because of the vision and dedication of two beloved benefactors, Christian LaRoche and Dottie Blacker, and the tangible talent of artist Sid Kamerman, The Arts Center now has another thought-provoking sculpture. OWC students and faculty, and all who visit The Arts Center for decades to come, will be touched by their gift inspired by a love of art, expression and a desire to create a lasting legacy.