A dense, complex mass of images drawn from the garment industry-hats, scissors, ribbons, and threads and men and women in coats, suits, and dresses-are combined with very expressive figures of runners, fighters, divers, dancers, and dogs, not to mention Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing together one last time. What could this mean? Why were these silhouette images cut out of brightly painted steel and inserted into the framework of five arches of an expansive gateway across Redwood Street? The answer lies in the artist's examination of and reflection on the rich history of this site. After commissioning David Gerlach to create a piece of sculpture for Howard's Park, the Market Center Development Corporation teamed up with Maryland Art Place, a not-for-profit center for contemporary art in Baltimore, to develop a more comprehensive public art program that would contribute significantly to their development of this west-side downtown urban renewal area. Maryland Art Place helped with site selection and with designing an artist-selection process. Linda DePalilla was chosen to create a new public artwork for Redwood Street, and Jeff Schiff was selected to create one for Liberty Plaza that would visually connect the east and west sides of Liberty Street.
DePalma set about celebrating the industries formerly housed along this street as well as the new ones related to the medical fields. For the intersection of Redwood and South Paca streets, DePalma designed the largest and most celebratory element –the gateway– with a main arch spanning the roadway that stands 24 feet high and a series of smaller pedestrian arches defining the walkways. At the east end of the block where Redwood intersects with South Eutaw Street, DePalma placed two single columns to punctuate the streetscape. The figures on the tops of these two columns were clearly cut from the main gateway at the opposite end of the street. Easily recognizable on the south side of the street is Leonardo's ideal man. The young woman leaping through a cutout of a man in a large overcoat on the opposite side of the street is a direct reference to Ground Play, DePalma's concurrent public artwork made for the Maryland Transit Administration's Old Court Metro Station.
This public artwork can be interpreted as reflecting the transitional nature of the neighborhood for which it was created. Some figures relate to the history of the site, and some relate to its current use, but almost every figure is active, energized, as the area is today. Optimistic, engaging and challenging, the piece offers many narratives of the past, the present, and the future. DePalma suggested that the gateway could be seen as a metaphor for the garment district, with the viewer as a tailor. The silhouettes are the patterns that can be constructed or stitched together, but instead of ending up with a piece of clothing, the viewer creates one of these narratives, uncovering the stories so beautifully embedded in the piece.
Source: Kelly, Cindy, Outdoor Sculpture in Baltimore: A Historical Guide to Public Art in the Monumental City, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011.