Kent pop-up art installation seeks to highlight truth-telling Americans

KENT – A new public art installation featuring a rotating display of portraits will be on view at the Kent Green until July 15 as part of the town’s America 250 celebration. The portraits depict prominent Americans known for promoting civic engagement, social justice, and environmental stewardship.

Currently, the display includes five portraits and will remain there until July 1, when they will be replaced with five different images. Kent Memorial Library will show a film about the stories behind the portraits on July 11 at 6:30 p.m.

Exhibit organizer Megan Haney said the purpose of art is to “raise people’s awareness of themselves, their own potential and their responsibility to keep up the struggle to maintain American ideals.”

She said that while it is important to celebrate America, it is equally important to correct the course of the country “by asking, ‘Are we doing a good enough job?’ And frankly, we’re not.”

The exhibit was created by Maine artist Robert Shetterly and his nonprofit arts and education group, Americans Who Tell the Truth. Founded in 2002, it uses original portraits set against vibrant colors depicting courageous citizens. Each portrait is accompanied by a biography and quote for visitors to take home.

Haney and a friend learned about the project from a PBS documentary, inspiring them to bring the show to the Northwest Corner.

“If one person is affected by this exhibit, I think it will be a success,” said Lynn Gray, who also organized the exhibit. “Sometimes it just takes one.”

Shetterly started painting the portraits in the years after 9/11, riddled with grief but also upset with the Bush administration for lying about weapons of mass destruction to promote the war in Iraq, he said.

“I thought, what can I do as an artist?” he said. “I thought, why don’t I surround myself with Americans who make me feel good about the country? I did it to make myself feel better. They’d be with me because I was painting their portraits.”

Shetterly said his goal was to create 50 paintings, but today he’s made 290 and they’ve travelled to 40 states. Now, he said he hopes to paint 300. All the portraits can be viewed at americanswhotellthetruth.org.

“I don’t know if we’ve ever been at more of a time in our history when we’ve needed courageous citizenship,” Shetterly said. “I don’t want people to look and see superheroes. They’re not to be up on pedestals, in fact, they’re models of how we can be. Everyone I’ve painted was flawed, but also did something courageous.”