John Petrey’s “Party Dress” can be seen on the sidewalk along Main Street.Growing up in the 1960s, John Petrey said, the United States was entering a state of unrest, but somehow that didn’t seem to be reflected on television.
“As a boy, I watched way too much television,” said Petrey, a Southside Chattanooga resident. “I grew up in the era where everything was perfect on television. All the TV moms of that era — Ozzie and Harriet, June Cleaver — were perfectly dressed and she had her pearls on, and she had her apron on, and she’s making dinner and life was perfect.”
These memories were the inspiration for Petrey’s Dress Series. A copper sculpture of a 1950s-style, full-skirted dress, is an eye-catching element of Main Street public art.
“I see a lot of people looking at it,” said Kaelin Wenger, assistant director at the Hart Gallery on Main Street. “I think it’s one of the most popular pieces on the street.”
Wenger, 22, called the piece iconic and haunting.