Arts & Entertainment

Daddy Longlegs Makes Home in Ellicott City

The sculpture, part of the ARTsites program, turns Howard County into an art gallery.

Residents head to the to pay tax bills, watch a county council meeting or apply for a building permit.

Add to the list “discuss fine art.”

That’s the hope, at least, behind “ARTsites,” a Howard County Arts Council-sponsored initiative to get people talking about art by placing different works in public places.

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And in the case of “Daddy Long Legs,” the orange sculpture that stands outside of the George Howard Building, it seems to be working, according to Coleen West, the organization’s executive director.

“During that installation, one of the security guards came up to us asking for information about the sculpture,” she said, because he expected passers-by would have questions, and he wanted to have answers.

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“He then proceeded to tell us about a sculpture that really moved him in Washington, D.C., called 'The Awakening,'" she said. "That sculpture is a giant that is embedded in the ground struggling to get out of the earth. There we were, standing in a courtyard talking about public art and the impact that it has on our community.” 

The ARTsites project will be going on all year throughout the county, with public art exhibits at twelve sites around the country:

  • Daddy Longlegs by John Parker – Howard County Government, George Howard  Building 3430 Courthouse Drive, Ellicott City
  • The Cycle by Hanna Jubran – Howard Community College, Horowitz Visual & Performing Arts Center, 10400 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia
  • Swallowtail by John Parker – Howard County General Hospital, 5755 Cedar Lane, Columbia 
  • A Carpenter’s Dream by Kevin Vanek – Corporate Office Properties Trust, 8671 Robert Fulton Drive, Columbia
  • Ringii by John Parker – Corporate Office Properties Trust, 6711 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia
  • Temple Bell by Ed Kidera – Talkin & Oh, 10211 Wincopin Circle, Columbia 
  • Rotors by Pail Daniel – North Laurel Community Center, 9411 Whiskey Bottom Road, Laurel
  • Tree by Sam Noto – Gary J Arthur Community Center, 2400 Route 97, Cooksville
  • Homage to Pi by Glenn Zweygardt – Howard County Library, Central Branch, 10375 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia 
  • Prism Arc by Carl Billingsley – Howard County Library, East Columbia Branch, 6600 Cradlerock Way, Columbia
  • by David Friedheim and Trisha Kyner – Howard County Library, Elkridge Branch, 6540 Washington Blvd, Elkridge
  • Eat the Rain by Andrew Yff – Howard County Library, Glenwood Branch, 2350 State Route 97, Cooksville

This article has been editied to correct the name of the artist who created Daddy Longlegs. His name is John Parker.


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