Tucson's Public Art

Title: Cancer... There's Hope, by Victor Selmonfs

Location: Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Survivor's Park in Reid Park (on the South side just off 22nd St.)

Details: Bronze figures representing cancer patients, the figures in the back of the maze represent those about to enter treatment, those in the front represent the successfully treated.

He Said:

With the transition from one year to the next upon us, this sculpture is appropriate, since it represents the transition from cancer patient to cancer survivor. This small park within a park is well done; it allows the visitor to form a bond of some sort with cancer patients. You can wander from plaque to plaque reading suggestions to improve your outlook if you have cancer, how you can help yourself fight this scary and so-often deadly disease. It tends to put minor problems into the correct perspective, making one feel humbled at the long and difficult path some are forced to take.

It is art that makes one think and reflect, and isn't that what art supposed to do?

She Said:

I can't actually add a great deal to what "he said," since he said it so eloquently. I like the figures in this sculpture, the way they seem to approach the viewer, and the way they project so well the hope to which the artist alluded. Even the ones at the back, just entering the doorways of treatment, seem to show that one must make the effort to conquer cancer, scary though the way may be. It also seems to me that this art is about trust, that someone must first trust him or herself to walk the path to treatment and survival, and to trust, as well, the caring people who work and provide help to overcome the illness.