Public Art in Angola
In Steuben County, public art is constantly being added to the landscape.
Angola
FREMONT
HAMILTON
ORLAND
Public Art in Angola
The oldest piece of public art in Angola in Steuben County is the New Deal mural entitled “Hoosier Farmer.” It was painted by Charles Campbell in 1938. Originally located in the old downtown post office, the 12 foot by 4 ½ foot oil canvas now hangs in the second story of the Steuben Community Center, 317 S. Wayne St., Angola. The center is open weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sunday Mahaja of Goshen created “Rebirth” that stands more than 8 feet tall. “Man of War,” by Greg Mendez and Neil Wiffill of Decatur is crafted from steel and cement. “Too Bee or Not To Bee” from Alex Mendez of Decatur is a 75-pound abstract sculpture while “If Doodles Jumped” is the creation of Emma Zuercher.
Sojourner Truth
The statue of Sojourner Truth was installed in downtown Angola in June, 2021, in front of the Steuben County Courthouse. The statue commemorates the time Truth spent in Steuben County in 1861 where she spoke of freeing slaves and increasing women’s rights.
The installation was supported by a $40,000 grant from the Indiana Office of Rural and Community Affairs and Indiana Humanities. The Downtown Angola Coalition was awarded the grant in celebration of the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote. First Federal Savings Bank of Angola also donated $15,000.
Make It Your Own Mural Fest
Syracuse, New York muralist Justin Suarez created a colorful mural featuring a loon and balloons as part of the 11-county Make It Your Own Mural Fest. The mural, on the west side of the Hurricane Speedshop, 900 N. Wayne St., focuses on a loon (in a nod to Loon Lake) as well as hot air balloons as a tribute to the annual Angola Balloons Aloft. Project partners for Mural Fest included the Steuben County Tourism Bureau and the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership. Murals were created in 11 counties over the course of 11 days in September 2020.
Bob the Bison
Located at Monument Plaza, 206 N. Wayne St., Angola, Bob was painted by Carl Mosier as part of the Indiana Bison-Tennial art project in 2016. Various local sites are depicted on the five-foot tall fiberglass bison, including the Potawatomi Inn, lake scenes and Native American imagery.
Baron von Steuben
The county’s namesake is immortalized in bronze in front of the Steuben County Courthouse on the public square in downtown Angola. Sculptor Lou Ann Lanagan Kjosen of Indianapolis, an Angola native, created the bronze clay bust. It was cast in a Kentucky foundry and dedicated during the Fourth of July celebration in 2012.
TRINE UNIVERSITY
Around Trine University’s T. Furth Center for Performing Arts you’ll find 24 marble statues representing Greek mythological figures connected to the arts. There also are statues of noted figures such as William Shakespeare and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Three muses are displayed on the west side of the center, 500 W. Maumee St.
Spoon Bill
“Spoon Bill,” a new sculpture by Greg Summers of Fremont, is on display just east of the Steuben County Courthouse in downtown Angola.
Cattail
“Cattail” was installed in the summer of 2024 at Trilogy Wealth Advisors, 211 E. Maumee St., Angola. It was created by Decatur-based artist Greg Mendez
CARNEGIE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Two colorful murals-one upstairs and one downstairs-were added to the library, 322 S. Wayne St., Angola. The downstairs mural, painted by Amy Buchs and Janelle Slone, features vibrant colors highlighted by translucent marbles. The upstairs mural, also painted by Buchs and Slone, is at the entrance to the children’s section and includes butterflies and a child gazing at a book. These murals can be seen during library hours.
Sunflower
“Sunflower,” a sculpture created by Impact Institute student welders and instructors, is displayed outside the library on the west side of South Wayne Street.
JIFFY LUBE MURAL
Fort Wayne artist Lyndy Bazile created this beautiful mural on the south side of Jiffy Lube, 640 N. Wayne St., Angola, as part of the company’s mission of “growing people through work” while beautifying the commercial corridors on which the stores reside and creating a sense of place. Since 2016, more than 30 murals have been added to various Jiffy Lube exteriors throughout Indiana, all by Hoosier artists. Murals are presented in partnership with the Arts Council of Indianapolis.
Lyndy Bazile, a multiracial woman of color born and raised in Indiana, uses her artwork to explore her Haitian ancestry in an attempt to better connect with her roots. Her work also celebrates larger body types and emphasizes feminine strength to celebrate multiplicity and evoke pride in diverse identities.
FOUR NEW SCULPTURES WERE INSTALLED IN JUNE, 2024 ON THE FOUR QUADRANTS OF THE PUBLIC SQUARE IN DOWNTOWN ANGOLA
As part of Sculptures Angola 2024, four new sculptures now grace downtown Angola on the quadrants of the public square. Partially funded by the Steuben County Tourism Bureau, these sculptures will be on display for one year.
Resplendent Ardor” by Gregory Mendez graces the northwest corner of the public square. The steel sculpture was inspired by a painting of a matador that was in his grandparents’ home.
“I had the thought of a ballet dancer dancing with a bull instead of fighting it,” he said.
In the northeast quadrant you’ll find “Owl” by Lynn Lehrman. It was created from an old farm disc, barn siding, sign post and car parts. Lehrman has been creating metal projects for more than 35 years. Another Maureen Gray sculpture returns to the southeast quadrant.
“Is there anything more beautiful than the phases of the moon,” she asks. “Simple, elegant, ever-changing and wonderful to look upon. This sculpture is simple and quiet like a meditation of the moon,” she said, referring to “Phases of the Moon.”
In the southwest corner a metal sculpture featuring roses and a firefly was created by Sunday Mahaja and is named “Blue Sisters.”
Phases of the Moon
Owl
Blue Sisters
Resplendent Ardor
Imagine Alley
Imagine Alley is a collaborative effort between former Angola High School students Teryn Stanley and Brooklynn Shively, the Downtown Angola Coalition and the City of Angola. The alley contains a modular hanging system devised by the City of Angola’s Downtown Services Department and installed by the street department, who also poured new concrete for the alley.
The system allows the space and art to be displayed in a multitude of ways including transforming the space into a live performance area. Currently, the art displayed was completed by former AHS students Allyson Ditmars and Genna Davis plus Easter Seals/RISE staff and clients. Furniture for the space was built by Trine University students Daria Frame and Jacob Stout. The name Imagine Alley came from one of the banners that welcomes and asks those who enter to use their imaginations.
Birdsong Park
Scott Lepley of Fremont created a tree stump sculpture in the new pocket park in downtown Angola, called #inthistogether. The park also features about 40 decorated birdhouses and was funded through a Quick Impact Place Based Grant administered through the Downtown Angola Coalition. Colorful murals are painted on three sidewalks that meander through the park. You’ll also find a pollinator garden that will draw bees and butterflies! At night, thousands of twinkle lights illuminate the park one block east of the public square. The 2020 Monolith by Elton Bishop is the latest addition to Birdsong Park.
Whole Hearted
The sculpture “Whole Hearted” originally graced the northeast quadrant of the public square and soon will be installed outside its new permanent home at the YMCA of Steuben County. Decatur artist Alex Mendez created this sculpture for the inaugural Sculptures Angola in 2019.
Dancing Lovers
Dancing Lovers was commissioned Feb. 14, 2013. Its permanent location is on the west side of the Medical Office Building, adjacent to Cameron Memorial Community Hospital. Just around the back of the hospital, step into Cameron’s healing garden, which showcases landscaping and a calming water feature. The paved walkways are friendly to people of various mobility levels. It’s an extension of the hospital’s main lobby and dining area.
Fremont
In Fremont, two semi-permanent sculptures are located in Crossroads Industrial Park along State Road 827. “Working Man,” was created by Fremont artist Greg Summers. It honors all the Steuben County workers and is 10 feet tall. “Climbing Man,” also created by Summers, embraces the idea that we all attempt to move up in our economic environment, he said. This sculpture is 18 feet tall and was erected by a crew from Swager Communications. Summers thanked former Fremont High School art teacher Greg Griffis for his technical assistance.
Clear Lake artist Angie Behnfeldt used her talents close to home when creating a mural on the south side of The Boathouse Boutique on Clear Lake. The mural is 13.5 feet wide by 11 feet tall and features a lake scene complete with a sailboat, fish, frogs and the bright sun.
Hamilton
The 16 by 32 foot mural on the side of the Party Store in downtown Hamilton was painted by Angola artist Cheryl Kellett.
“I actually painted the mural in my garage on 4 by 8 foot sheets of marine plywood. It was then pieced together on the side of the building,” she said.
Kellett looked through old photos of the town and lake and then toured Hamilton Lake to look at the modern settings. The mural features rock seawalls, herons, ducks and water slides.
The mural was commissioned by the Hamilton Garden Club.
The mural in downtown Orland
The mural in downtown Orland was dedicated during the town’s sesquicentennial celebration in July, 1984. Maurice Marks from nearby LaGrange painted a picture of the St. Joe Valley Line’s locomotive #121 sitting at the Orland Depot.
There’s steam shooting out of the locomotive, plus several local men standing at the porch area of the depot. Orland resident Kim Norton secured permission from the Joyce Public Library to have Marks paint the mural on the west side of the library, at the junction of State Road 120 and State Road 327.
According to Norton, “Marks scraped the entire surface (64 feet by 16 feet), then painted it with a base coat. He then gridded off the area in 3 feet lots and gridded off the projected painting that he had done in 1-inch square sections. He would paint each area exactly as it had been painted on his projection.
It was done in sepia tones to make it look like the postcard from which it was painted. The mural took all 30 days of June in 1984.” During the dedication, a train whistle was obtained, an airline hooked up to it and the whistle was blown, according to Norton.
“Here We Are”
“Here We Are” by local artist Terry Musclow is situated in Memorial Park in the heart of downtown Orland. His sculpture captures Orland as a celebration of beautiful people, farm crops, lakes, streams (and really big old trees!) and the first Settlement in Steuben County.
The piece is made from hard maple, resin, mica and glass. It is accompanied by three hanging ornaments that are named “Farm to Table to Farm,” which is a wind chime; “Balance,” which features a tensegrity design and “Made in America” featuring local manufacturing.
