Art Sculptures Attracting Second Looks
By Jack Urso

Ambassador Of The Streets

Two boys stand on a street corner while a woman walks her dog, and a man strums a guitar as a young girl hangs onto a stop sign.

Look more closely: you can see a jogger, a mother reading to her child, and a police officer writing a parking ticket.

Typical activities of urban life, but also activities transformed into art and displayed on the streets of downtown Albany – amidst their real-life counterparts – since 1998.

Sponsored by the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District (BID), the statues by J. Seward Johnson are meant to liven up downtown’s streets and attract more business to the city.

The statues have been a hit with the general public, but the local arts community has been reticent about putting its stamp of approval on the project, pushing instead for local works to be displayed locally. Story

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