Birth of a Muse from the collection of Arts New Orleans

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Birth of a Muse, 2011

Bronze

Location: Parks and Parkways Coliseum Square Park, 708 Coliseum & Race St. (Google map)

"Birth of a Muse" is a cast bronze figure representing Terpsichore, one of the nine muses who are the namesakes of the Lower Garden District neighborhood. Bernadas explains:

"The Muses, according to Greek mythology, are goddesses who inspire the creation of the arts. They whisper in the ear, light the fire within, and stimulate the creative process of every artist. Expressed here is Terpsichore, emerging from a trumpet flower, to begin her life in celebration of music, song and dance. She beckons friends old and new to explore Coliseum Square and celebrate the natural and artistic beauty found in the neighborhood of the nine muses."

Birth of a Muse was selected by a panel of neighborhood representatives as the first post-Katrina Public Art Commission for the City of New Orleans, and was installed as part of a revitalization project for the Coliseum Square Park. The location for piece, at the corner of Prytania and Terpsichore, was determined through neighborhood surveys with the help of Coliseum Square Association. It creates another entrance point to the park guarded by a strong female figure; like Margaret Haughery at the Clio St. entrance, and Sophie Wright at the uptown end of the park system.

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About the artist

Kim Bernadas

Kim Bernadas works in both figure and portrait sculpture using a classical approach achieving an uncanny likeness to her subjects in her portraiture. In her figures, she uses gesture, proportion, and the uniqueness of each individual to express the essence of the subject. With a background as a physical therapist and a former ballet instructor, Bernadas has had a life long study in the dynamics of the human form. Her artistic training began at New Orleans Academy of Fine Art in 1991, where she presently teaches portrait and figurative sculpture. Additionally, Bernadas conducts sculpture intensives at several locations in the Southeast throughout the year.

Bernadas' work is included in many public and private collections, including a monumental work depicting four of the 9 Greek Muses in bronze for the Jefferson Performing Arts Center; the Walter Dumas bust for the Baton Rouge Community College; Ed McKee plaque for Livingston Parish; Baby Pan for the Soniat Garden; and the life-sized Mother and Child for the Tulane Medical Center Maternity Pavilion. Bernadas has been elected to the Portrait Sculptors Society of the Americas and Women Artists of the West (WAOW). Bernadas' life size bronze of philanthropist Stanley W. Ray, Jr. is part of the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) collection in City Park; and her installation of Brother Martin Hernandez is placed at the Brother Martin High School Outdoor Mall. She lives and works in New Orleans.

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About the artist

Kim Bernadas