The Vermont Arts Council and the Department of Buildings & General Services are proud to announce the permanent installation of works of art by three Vermont sculptors at the newly renovated Vermont State Archives and Records Administration Building in Middlesex, VT. Works of art were commissioned through the Vermont Art in State Buildings Program.
The Vermont State Archives and Records Administration Building in Middlesex recently underwent significant renovations that included the installation of permanent sculpture through the Art in State Buildings program. The Vermont Arts Council worked with a Local Art Selection Committee to select Jim Cole of West Rupert, VT from a pool of 15 applicants. The Committee included:
- Tricia Harper, Project Manager, Dept. of Buildings & General Services
- Steve Rooney, Architect, Truex Cullins & Partners Architects
- Wanda Minoli, Principal Assistant, Dept. of Buildings & General Services
- Deb Markowitz, Secretary of State
- Rep. Patricia McDonald, Washington County
- Rob Hitzig, Local Artist/Business Owner, Lazy Pear Gallery, Montpelier
Further input was obtained by Gregory Sanford, State Archivist and Carolyn Antone, in Vital Records at the Middlesex Archives.
The work includes five abstract sculptural objects made of welded stainless steel for the exterior of the building and an interior element – which is a graphic representation of a quote from William Slade, former Vermont Secretary of State (1815-1823) and Former Vermont Governor (1844-1846). The quote, “Every government…should possess, and should place within reach of the people, a complete history of its own legislation. Without the possession of such history, and a practical regard to the lessons it inculcates, legislation will be, at best, but a succession of experiments, and as a necessary consequence, every operation of government will be characterized with instability and want of wisdom” is installed in the research room over the main desk. The sculptures are abstract in shape and portions of the quote are engraved on selected sculptures.
Artist Statement:
The title “Freedom From/Freedom To” came about through my conversations Committee members and with Gregory Sanford, State Archivist. Sanford proposed it as a possibility and this provided me with the inspiration to develop the specific forms. The pieces serve as metaphor for this ideal. On one extreme is “Freedom To”, a vertical element, capable of movement by rotating on an axis. The purpose of the rotation is to visually illustrate the progression towards this ideal and responds to the wind. Another vertical element, “Freedom From" is fixed in place and represents the opposite extreme. Between these two are three stainless pieces of a functional nature. The largest is a table, with two smaller pieces serving as seating. Symbolically and figuratively serving the populace and reflecting our government. One panel on each piece of seating contain words from the quote.
Jim Cole is currently on the faculty of the Rhode Island School of Design and is the co-owner and Founder of Bronze Age Casting in West Rupert, Vermont. Jim’s work can be found in numerous collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the American Museum of Art and Design in New York. In 2006, Jim completed a public art commission for the Florida Art in State Buildings Program for the School of Law at the University of Florida in Gainsville.
In addition to the work of Jim Cole, the works of two Vermont sculptors were reinstalled as part of the current renovations to the building. Judith Wrend of Morrisville and John Brickels of Essex Junction were commissioned to create work for the General Services building in the early 1990's as one of the first projects funded by the Art in State Buildings Program. Their work was 
removed and reinstalled as part of this most recent renovation. Judith Wrend’s work consists of a series of aluminum pendants that wave in the wind and are attached to a functional baseball backstop outside of the building. John Brickel’s work is a series of ceramic architectural wall reliefs and can be found in the reference room.