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A huge Vincent van Gogh reproduction is on display in Goodland, the "Sunflower Capital of Kansas"
Written by: Mike Berry The Wichita Eagle, Wichita, Kansas
6/20/2001
GOODLAND, Kan. --It's probably a safe bet that Vincent van Gogh never heard of Goodland, Kansas.
But the world-famous artist loved sunflowers, and because Goodland is now known as the "Sunflower Capital of the High Plains,"
old Vincent probably would have approved of the goings-on in Goodland on Tuesday.
A pair of giant cranes hoisted a 24-foot by 32-foot reproduction of one of van Gogh's seven sunflower paintings, complete with
an 80-foot tall easel, into place in a new park at the east entrance to this farming community.
"You'll be able to see it from the interstate, but you won't be able to tell exactly what it is," said Donna Price, a staff worker at the
local chamber of commerce.
"We hope people will see it and it will entice them into town.''
That said, this wasn't a project dreamed up by the chamber or the visitor's bureau.
Canadian artist Cameron Cross came to Goodland with the proposal to put the third of his series of seven giant reproductions of
van Gogh's sunflowers here.
The first oversized painting went up in his hometown of Altona, Canada, and the second is on display in Emerald, Australia.
Other locales will include the Netherlands, Japan, South Africa and Argentina.
Goodland will be the only place in the United States where one of the giant easels bearing a van Gogh sunflower painting can be
seen.
Cross, who spent six weeks painting the huge fiberglass "canvas," with the help of some Goodland elementary students, decided
his monstrous paintings should be displayed in places around the globe that have a connection with either van Gogh, sunflowers,
or both.
Altona, for instance, plays host annually to the Manitoba Sunflower Festival.
Cross wasn't on hand for Tuesday's set-up, but will be back for the Aug. 17 dedication.
Construction crews had to wait for morning breezes to die down to 5-10 mph before they could haul the easel to its heavy steel
feet and set it in place on a base, where it was permanently welded down.
The finished artwork weighs in at 35,000 pounds, according to Darin Neufeld, a local civil engineer who helped bring the project
together.
Marcia Golden, vice president of the Goodland volunteer group known as the Sunflowers USA Association, said the final cost of
the project will come in at about $150,000. That includes $50,000 in an attractions grant from the Kansas Department of
Commerce and $4,000 from the Kansas Arts Commission. The rest will be raised from corporate and private donations. No tax
money was involved.
Marcia's husband, John Golden, was toting Styrofoam cups and jugs of hot coffee, offering them to workers and those who
gathered to watch the two-year project come to fruition.
"I grow sunflowers," John Golden said, hoisting his own cup of coffee to the painting.
"Here's to Vincent. ... he found satisfaction and beauty in sunflowers, and so did we," he said.
Van Gogh's seven sunflower paintings were created between 1888 and 1889 while the artist was in Arles, France.
Fifth-grade students at North Elementary School studied van Gogh's life and the countries where the giant paintings will reside as
class projects, said teacher Norma Staker. They even made three short documentaries about the creation of the Goodland
re-creation of his art.
The giant van Gogh now is on display at what is known as the "Cherry Street Y," which is being rerouted by the city. Plans call for
an information kiosk to be built, along with a public viewing area on newly acquired property just southeast of the easel.
Eventually, said Marcia Golden, the hope is that an exhibition hall dedicated to the history of sunflowers and van Gogh will be built
at the site, too.
www.wichitaeagle.com
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