Artist uses tools -- including plasma torch -- for city's pole art

All art forms require inspired use of color, design and texture. Most art forms also require mastery of some technical skill: use of a brush, manipulating clay, using a camera.
    Bruce Bitter's art requires the artistic eye and compositional skills of a painter. It also requires some skill with a plasma torch.
    Bitter works in metal, and his street pole banners now hang across the state of Kansas, in Olathe, Hoisington and now Dodge City.
    Bitter has been commissioned to create 30 metal pole banners to enhance the downtown area of Dodge City. Bob Lancaster, arts and tourism coordinator for the city, discovered Bitter's artwork and requested financial support from "Why Not Dodge?" funds.
    Lancaster proposed that his office seek sponsorships for at least 15 of the first 30 banners, and that effort has been successful. In fact, three more patrons signed up for sponsorships at Wednesday's reception showcasing the finished banners.
    Twenty-four of the first 30 banners are complete and will be hung in the next few weeks. Victory Electric is completing a project to clean off old layers of chipping paint on downtown street light poles, then repaint them in preparation for hanging the banners.
    The shiny black poles with the shiny black banners in place will offer tourists and locals both an artistic experience and a historical one.

Capturing a town's history in metal
    Bitter's process begins with research.
    "I rely on books and photos a lot, but it's the local historians who provide the most useful information," he said in an interview with the Globe Wednesday afternoon at Hoover Pavilion.
    Bitter's journey into the past helps him choose a theme for each banner and assemble the elements each should contain.
    Each banner is uniquely different. "Beautiful Boots," sponsored by the Dodge City Women's Chamber of Commerce, was inspired by the group's logo, which is a boot filled with flowers.
    "I try to avoid using an exact reproduction of any logo," Bitter said.
    His interpretation of the Women's Chamber graphic includes boots and incorporates prairie wildflowers. With its reference to the American plains, "Beautiful Boots" is the banner that represents the earliest period in Dodge City history.
    "Capturing the Wind," which commemorates the Kansas wind, has the most modern element. With the classic windmill found on most farms in the area in the first part of the 20th century and a wind generator used to power radio in remote locations, the banner also depicts the more recent development of wind farms in the area.

Not exactly carved in stone
    Once the designs are complete, Bitter sits down in front of his blank canvas — a 30- by 48-inch sheet of metal. Using a felt-tip marker, he lays out the design on the metal.
    Wearing safety equipment unnecessary for working in most art forms, Bitter begins to cut through the thick metal to create the silhouette that forms the images.
    "As I cut, I have to think about the strength of the finished piece — these will hang in some pretty rough conditions," Bitter said.
    He's also thinking of how the viewer will see the piece from a distance, hoping to keep the intent of the piece clear.
    Bitter avoids lettering when possible, since the banner will be viewed from both sides. He also avoids faces, since the detail is just too hard to capture.
    "I try to get some motion into the piece, not just static figures and objects," Bitter said.
    Each piece takes from three days to a week to complete. Bitter often puts down one piece to work on another for a while.
    "Sometimes I hit a block and need to let it sit, then come back to it later," he said.
   
A permanent exhibit
    Once the pieces are hung, Bitter knows he'll be proud of them.
    "It's kind of overwhelming to be responsible for the whole history of a town in such a lasting way, but I can't wait to get them up," he said.
    He points to the value of the project for tourism.
    "We know that in other towns people stay a little longer to look at the banners. That helps businesses," he said.
    But Bitter is proud of the collection from an artistic standpoint as well as a historic perspective.
    "I'm sure that, once these panels are installed, other people will come forward and want to sponsor a piece. In Hoisington, we started with 14, then increased that to 32 and finally ended up with 62. I'm pretty sure that will happen here too," he said.
    For more information about the artist, visit his Web site at www. bbmetalarts.com.
    For more information about the project or to inquire about sponsoring a banner, contact Bob Lancaster at (620) 225-8100.

Reach Don Steele at (620) 408-9910 or e-mail him at don.steele@dodgeglobe.com.