I am sitting on one of those famous Baltimore benches with cement supports, heavy wooden slats for a seat and backrest, and the notorious inscription: “Baltimore: The Greatest City in America.” Never mind that this tag line has generated more humor than Stephen Colbert —I remain an unabashed Baltimore believer.
Eric Leshinsky, C. Ryan Patterson, & Fred Scharmen, Evergreen Commons, 2010. Courtesy Evergreen Museum & Library, The Johns Hopkins University (Photo by Will Kirk/Homewood Photography)
The bench sits inside a 12-foot square space surrounded by a chain link fence on three sides. There’s a brick wall inscribed with graffiti behind me and cement pavers at my feet. A wire garbage can, half full of fast food trash, tilts to one side and rests on a banana peel. A street light rises above the enclosure; it is actually a mount for a camera, decorated with a City of Baltimore seal and the slogan “24/7 BELIEVE.” Am I to believe that someone in a distant control room is watching me closely, just in case I get out of line? A stern sign warns “No Ball Playing,” yet a basketball hoop stands like a temptress in one corner. What kind of ball could we play in this confined space anyway?
I explore a little further. On the gate, a signup sheet hangs on a clip board; whoever runs this urban park wants to be in touch with us: “If you would like to find out about future events …” Always curious, I signed up the last time I was here in May. Only five others have volunteered their information in the meantime. Isn’t anyone as curious as I am about this newly created space?
The bulletin board outside the gate provides more details. This is Evergreen Commons, a collaboration among three Baltimore artists/activists who make interesting things happen: C. Ryan Patterson, Community Arts Coordinator for Parks and People; Eric Leshinsky, an architect, graphic designer, and creator of site-specific installations; and Fred Scharman, an architect at Ziger Snead Architects.
Sitting in their Evergreen Commons, I am very aware that I am seated in a completely transparent enclosure, visible to all who pass by. This does not feel like a place to tell a secret or steal a kiss, especially in Smalltimore. To prove the point, a docent appears, preparing her tour for the next day.
Evergreen Commons is one of 10 installations featured in Simultaneous Presence, the sixth annual sculpture exhibition at the Evergreen House in the heart of manicured Baltimore. The Washington Post suggests thinking of Simultaneous Presence’s sprawling 26-acres and installations “as an art-themed scavenger hunt, where around every corner and hedgerow lies a surprise.”
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Simultaneous Presence, on view until September 26, is a great way to spend a summer’s afternoon. Kudos to Evergreen’s Jim Abbott and Guest Curators Ronit Eisenbach and Jennie Fleming. This is a great example of highlighting Baltimore’s best in a powerful national array of artists. Congratulations!
Filed in: Evergreen House.
Doreen Bolger is always on the move because she can’t stop seeing, supporting, and writing about the arts in and around Baltimore City. Her lengthy love affair for the arts began in Long Island when her father, an executive in the textile industry, brought home breathtaking fabrics every night from the heart of the garment district. 