County dedicates two works of public art at Allison-Parris Office Building

NEW CITY, NY –  Rockland County Executive Ed Day along with the Rockland County Art in Public Places Committee on Wednesday formally dedicated two works of art at the Allison-Parris County Office Building

“Public art provides an important venue for Rockland County residents and visitors to appreciate art outside of traditional museum settings,” the County Executive said.  “It says so much about our community that a group of volunteers, the Rockland County Art in Public Places Committee, are willing to work together to add beauty to our county.”

He thanked Kenneth Lisner and Erin Martin, the co-chairs of the Rockland County Art in Public Places Committee, as well as Legislator Harriet Cornell, who helped create the program.

Since 1986, one percent of the bonded capital cost of county government construction projects has been allocated for art. The Percent for Art Law was the first of its kind in the state outside of New York City.

“Waves of Change, “ is a 12-foot high glass and Cor-ten steel sculpture by Gordon Huether, situated in front of the County Office Building on New Hempstead Road. It reflects the winding rivers of the Hudson Valley, the majestic cliffs of the Palisades, and the growing and diverse population of Rockland County.

Gordon Huether attended the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington and has created installations for the Jacksonville International Airport, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Austin, Texas, and the Hiroshige Museum in Japan, among many others.

County Executive Day also dedicated a portrait of his predecessor, C. Scott Vanderhoef, who served as County Executive from 1994 to 2013.

The portrait was installed in the Media Room, alongside a portrait of Rockland’s first County Executive, John Grant.

The work, by Janet Cunniffe-Chieffo, who also attended the ceremony, is a tribute to Vanderhoef’s years of service and to his commitment to the preservation of open spaces in Rockland County.

“I hope people remember the 1,200 acres of open space, the three farms saved and the 2,400 units of affordable housing during that 20 years,” Vanderhoef said as he thanked the Committee.

Additional Arts in Public Places projects will be unveiled at the Fire Training Center in Pomona, at the Sparkill Creek Drawbridge in Piermont and on the campus of the Dr. Robert L. Yeager Health Center where artist and long-time Pomona resident Bill Hochhausen is in the process of restoring his art deco bus shelter, first designed in 1990.

  Allison-Parris Office Building, Executive Ed Day, Rockland County Art in Public Places Committee