Benches and bicycle racks (work of art)
Artwork Info
Key Ideas
- These benches and bicycle racks are made from recycled prison cell bars. They are located throughout the Museum Park. They are visual reminders of the Park land’s complicated history.
- Alvin Frega is a North Carolina artist who makes sculptures out of salvaged metal and other found materials.
- Frega’s benches and bicycle racks are examples of both public art and functional art. They are located in public spaces, they serve a useful purpose, and they are designed in an artistic way.
- The NCMA commissioned Frega to create artwork using materials from the demolition of a prison facility. The prison once stood on the land that is now part of the Museum Park.
Learn More
Alvin Frega is a sculptor based in Durham, North Carolina. He designed and made a series of functional artworks in the form of benches and bike racks for the Museum Park. The benches are used as seating throughout the Park, and the racks are used as bicycle parking spaces beside a paved trail. To create these sculptures, Frega salvaged and recycled steel prison cell bars and scrap metal from the demolition of the prison that once occupied this site. He combined these materials to create structures that are both useful and artistically designed.
I’m an object maker. It’s a very constructivist process for me. I am building things, I am fastening and putting things together. I have always liked building and making things.
Alvin Frega
From 1920 to 1997, North Carolina operated a prison farm and then a correctional center on this property. The prison was later named Polk Youth Center (also known as Polk Correctional Institution). The young men who were incarcerated there were moved to Granville Correctional Institution in 1997. The prison buildings, located where the NCMA Welcome Center and parking lot are today, were demolished and removed in 2003. The smokestack beside the Welcome Center is the only remaining structure from the former prison. Frega’s benches and bicycle racks are public artworks that recognize the presence and labor of the individuals who were housed at the prison. They also serve as visual reminders of the site’s complex history.
The possibilities of art are endless. That’s the beauty of it. There is so much more that can be done.
Alvin Frega
Additional Resources
Resources for Teachers
- Visit Frega’s website to read about his work.
- Visit a website to explore examples of public art.
- Read an article about functional art.
- Read a local news article about the demolition of the Polk Youth Center.
Resources for Students
- Watch a short video of Frega describing his artistic process.
- View a virtual gallery of the artist’s sculptures.
- Explore examples of public art in Durham created by Frega and other North Carolina artists.
- View images of the Polk Youth Center by North Carolina photographer David Simonton.
Images
-
Benches and bicycle racks
Six photos of five individual benches and a pair of bicycle racks in an outdoor park setting. The structures are made from metal that is reddish brown in color. They are surrounded by green grass, foliage, and trees.