Alan LeQuire in a 3.3 Mile Walk

In about 3.3 miles an explorer of Nashville can celebrate the city’s “First Citizen,” Timothy Demonbreun while watching barges go up and down the Cumberland River. Demonbreun’s statue stands within a few hundred feet of the river at 170 1st Avenue North in Bicentennial Mall Park (at the eastern end of Union Street). The park is an exclave of Bicentennial Capital Mall on James Robertson Parkway and to most people appears to be an extension of Riverfront Park just to the north of Fort Nashborough. At any rate, Demonbreun was a fur trader and served in the American Revolution and the monument to him was crafted by Alan LeQuire in 1996.

Alan LaQuire is the principle subject of this blog, or at least the works of his hands will be featured here. Stick with me and you will find that four of his works can be seen in a 3.3 mile walk. You can get bonus points for walking another mile and add another one of his works, if you want. Nashville can be an interesting place.

From Timothy Demonbreun one can then walk west a short distance down Union Street, make a left on Fourth or Fifth, walk a block, make a right onto Church Street, and continue west on Church to Nashville’s Main Public Library. If the library is open, you can examine the sixteen panels on the inside of the library’s doors. Sixteen of the 24 bronze panels depict natural wildlife scenes. The eight panels on the center set of doors depict individuals who are reading or otherwise learning. I especially enjoyed the large turtle and heron the most. To this point you have walked a little over one-half mile.

It gets a trickier now travel-wise, but after hitting the library, you can view a third LeQuire sculpture by continuing your walk west. This one is a little more controversial, simply because it contains nine huge (twice life-size) nude dancing figures made of bronze. To see the “Musica Statue” continue west on Church street and at Eighth Avenue turn left and walk to Broadway. When you get to Broadway, turn right. You will walk west past the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. You can also rest your feet and spend a few hours there too. Continue walking west until you get to 14th Avenue, turn left and walk until you get to Demonbreun Street and turn right. Demonbreun is obviously named for Timothy Demonbreun for whom LeQuire memorized in a bronze statue near the river. Continue your walk to Buddy Killen Circle (it’s where 16th Avenue South, Music Square East, Division, and Demonbreun Streets meet). Within the roundabout you will see “Musica.” The piece shows a dance troupe in performance at the top end of music row. The work celebrates not only music but the arts in general. The idea here is that when you hear good, inspiring music people burst into dance. Personally, I didn’t find the sculpture offensive. Maybe the huge 14 foot bronze statue of “David” at the Ringling Art Museum (a bronze cast from the marble original by Michelangelo in Florence, Italy) that I saw as a kid growing up in Sarasota, Florida made it seem like “No big deal” to me. Anyway, the work was too impressively large to be offensive.

While you circle around Buddy Killen Circle to take in LeQuire’s work be sure to see the tribute to Owen Bradley (Owen Bradley Park) at the piano. This work was not done by LeQuire, but it is worth the time to look at it. You’ve now walked about 1.7 miles.

From Buddy Killen Circle walk one block north on 16th avenue, turn left onto West End Avenue and continue west for a little over 1 mile. When you come to Centennial Park on your right, head north into the park. You will see the replica of the Parthenon, Temple of Athena Parthenos. LeQuire’s work, “Athena Parthenos” is inside this gigantic structure. Like the original Athena, the Athena in Nashville was in the Parthenon located on the Acropolis, in Athens, Greece. The original Athena, sculpted by Phidias in 439 BC is no longer there, reportedly looted in the 5th century AD.

In 1456 AD, Athens fell to the Ottoman Turks and converted the Parthenon into a mosque. And then in 1687 the Venetians attacked Athens. Unfortunately, the Ottomans were using the Parthenon as a gunpowder depot and the building was partially destroyed as a result of a Venetian mortar.

The building and the Athena statue are both full-scale replicas of the Athenian originals. The Athena in Nashville’s Parthenon is an impressive 42 feet tall (actually 41 feet 10 inches). It was created using descriptions of her by ancient writers, depictions of her on Athenian coins and a small-scale Roman statue. Consider the size and structure of the Parthenon too. Nashville is a good place to see all of this.

Next to the Acropolis and the Parthenon in Athens is Areopagus Hill, the meeting place of the council of Athens. This is the place where scripture says the Apostle Paul made his famous speech in 52 AD. Scripture refers to Areopagus Hill as “Mars Hill.” It was named after the Greek god of war who was tried at the site.

We can only assume the Apostle Paul saw Athena and indeed the Pathenon on his visit to Athens. He must have been stirred by all the other references to mythological gods and goddesses. In his speech (recorded in Acts 17) he even observed that the Athenians were very religious. They had even established an altar to “an unknown god.” Paul’s response, “What you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth…is not found in things, but in us, for in Him we live and breathe and have our being” (vs. 27-28).

Impressed yet? If you are making this journey with me, you have seen four of Alan LeQuire’s works in 3.3 miles. He is quite a craftsman. And he has done a good many pieces.

Now, If you want bonus points, walk with me a little further and you can see a fifth work by LeQuire. For this one head southeast to Vanderbilt University Medical Center on 21st Avenue South. Here you will see his “Flying Torso.”

From the Parthenon, return to the West End Avenue entrance to Centennial Park. Carefully cross West End Avenue and locate 26th Avenue South. Walk south on 26th Avenue to Kensington Place. Turn left and walk east one block and turn right onto 25th Avenue South. In two blocks you will reach Garland Avenue. At Garland Avenue, turn left and walk east until you arrive at the Eskind Biomedical Library at 2209 Garland Avenue (about 2 blocks). The library won an AIA/ALA Library Award in 1999. The building is interesting in itself.

The Flying Torso sits in front of the library. It is also about 300 feet from the McDonalds Restaurant on the northwest side of Vanderbilt Hospital. If you are ever in the neighborhood visiting a friend in the hospital, find your way to McDonalds and from there walk northwest about 300 feet and you will be able to view this piece.

If you continue walking east through this courtyard area you will encounter two additional pieces of art (not by LeQuire). They are the “Balance and Unbalanced Beam” and the “Guardian Spirit.” Continue east a few more feet and you will reach 21st Avenue South via Medical Center Drive. The “bonus walk” will add about a mile to your hike.

The walk has taken you by many cultural places of interest. The sites represent history, culture, art, nature and religion. Many of them might encourage you to look deeper into history and the arts. The high point for me was Athena, the cult image of the goddess of wisdom, warfare, peace and reason and the indirect reference to it in the Acts of the Apostles. The point here has been to get you thinking.

Enjoy the arts. Learn about history. Serve others. Observe God’s creation. Meanwhile, never loose sight of your first love, which should be for God.

Scripture:
Acts 1.8 – Jesus tells His disciples they will receive the “power” of the Holy Spirit. The “Acts of the Apostles” is an account of the “acts” of the apostles as led by the indwelling Spirit of God.
Acts 17.19 – Paul saw that Athens was full of idols. Scripture specifically records he was at Areopagus Hill.
Acts 17.22 – He was in the place where the City Council met.
Acts 17.25 – God needs nothing we can supply.
Acts 17.27 – He is not far from any one of us.
Acts 17.29 – Our God is not shaped by the art and skill of man.
Acts 17.31 – The reality and power of God was proven by His Son and His life, His Death and His Resurrection.
Acts 19.21-41 – Even when Paul was in Ephesus, a city in what is now Turkey, the Jewish Christians did not rob the temples or say evil things about any other goddess (specifically Artemis)
Acts 20.17-38 – Paul’s message to the Ephesians, like his message to the Athenians, was to turn away from their sins and believe in Christ (God).
Revelation 2.4 – The Apostle’s message to the church at Ephesus, despite their work and service to others, etc. was that the Ephesians had lost their first love.