Arts!Longview installed two additional sculptures in the Cultural District on Thursday, August 11. A piece
entitled, “Pegasus IV: Liftoff,” was installed on the lawn in front of Longview City Hall while another
sculpture titled, “Life is a Balancing Act,” was installed in front of the LeTourneau University Belcher
Center.
“These sculptures are part of our ongoing efforts to continuing enhancing our community through the
arts. We hope both pieces will serve as inspiration for those in our community and beyond,” said
Christina Cavazos, executive director of Arts!Longview.
“Pegasus IV: Liftoff” was created by artist Tom Gingras, of Spicewood. The sculpture, which stands are
more than 7 feet tall, was fabricated from welded mild steel, bronze and copper.
Gingras is familiar with East Texas. He lived in Tyler in the 1970s and studied at Texas Eastern University
(today known as the University of Texas at Tyler). After college, Gingras briefly taught at Tyler Junior
College. He moved to Austin in 1980 and taught art classes over the years. Now retired, he's continuing
to create art.
Gingras said he hopes Pegasus serves to inspire the community in Longview.
"Dream the impossible dream, and put yourself in it," he said.
At the Belcher Center, “Life is a Balancing Act” is a bronze sculpture that features a young girl wearing a
leotard practicing balance. It was created by artist Cindy Debold, who resides near Lake Travis. In her
sculptures, Debold strives to create work that is realistic and that captures emotion.
“‘Life is a Balancing Act' is a sculpture of a young girl, relaxed and self-confident, balancing on one foot
with her eyes closed. The sculpture is a visual metaphor of its title, in that maintaining a balance
between health, family, work and play is very important, though not always easy,” Debold said. “The
closed eyes are symbolic of ‘trust' in the future, our intuition, and on another level, the ultimate
benevolence in the universe. My hope is that someday all children can enjoy the adventures and
challenges of life with a sense of trust in themselves and each other.”
In selecting the sculpture locations, Cavazos said it seemed fitting to place them at City Hall and the
Belcher Center, respectively.
“Our community has a rich history in the oil industry and the Pegasus sculpture, while whimsical and
fantastic, also is a nod to that history. We could think of no better location than on the lawn in front of
Longview City Hall, where it will be well protected while also offering easy access to be viewed by
people in our community and beyond,” Cavazos said. “With ‘Life is a Balancing Act,’ the LeTourneau
University Belcher Center was the ideal location. The Belcher Center is not only one of our partner arts
organizations, but it also serves as the performance home to many other arts organizations in our
community. This young girl vividly reminded us of our own community of dancers throughout Longview
Ballet Theatre’s rich, 50-year history. We hope she will greet will the next generation of dancers as they
visit the Belcher Center.”
Both sculptures were installed Wednesday as part of a grant project through funding from the Texas
Commission on the Arts. Arts!Longview received grant funding from the TCA in the fall of 2021 to help
fund sculptures in the Cultural District. The Texas Commission on the Arts grant is a 1:1 matching grant.
The Rosa May Griffin Foundation, which has long been supportive of Arts!Longview and other arts
projects in the Cultural Arts District, stepped forward to provide the matching funds for Arts!Longview
to bring three sculptures to the city. A previous sculpture, called “Books Make Dreams,” was installed in
July in front of the Longview Public Library.
After receiving the funding, Arts!Longview put out a call for sculptors to submit proposals to the
nonprofit organization. A call was put out locally for requests as well as statewide through the Texas
Commission on the Arts’ website and via the Texas Society of Sculptors. Arts!Longview received about
20 proposals from sculptors across the state and narrowed the selection to three.
“We are grateful to the Texas Commission on the Arts as well as our local supporters at the Rosa May
Griffin Foundation for helping us bring these sculptures to our community,” Cavazos said. “We also are
extremely thankful to our partnership with the City of Longview and with LeTourneau University, both of
whom are avid supporters of the arts and our Cultural District. This would not have been possible
without their support.”
Arts!Longview is a nonprofit organization that manages a 343-acre state-designated Cultural Arts District
in Longview. The Cultural Arts District encompasses downtown Longview and extends to the Belcher
Center at LeTourneau University. In previous years, Arts!Longview has brought public art to the city
through a variety of murals downtown.