Even Stones Have Eyes

Larry Bradshaw

Huma Bhabha’s “Even Stones Have Eyes” (2023) is the 32nd sculpture installed at the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park. The 12-foot-high bronze female figure has one arm and stands on a peg leg. The dark patina of the bronze suggests the passage of time. While monumental in size, she is vulnerable. Bhabha often explores such dualities in her work, …

Liftoff

M. Jessica Rowe

Who has seen the wind?                Neither I nor you: But when the leaves hang trembling                The wind is passing through.   Who has seen the wind?                Neither you nor I: But when the trees bow down their heads   …

Hulking Giants

M. Jessica Rowe

Hulking Giants, part of a project called Tilting at Windmills, are shown on both corners of the Cubic form of the artist’s studio. They are respectively 576cm (19ft) and 384cm (13ft) high and 64cm (2.1ft) wide. Both are attached to a synchronized digital loop player. These two (2) visual art displays rotate at a constant speed of about 3 seconds …

The Black Crown of Perpetual Loss

M. Jessica Rowe

The Black Crown of Perpetual Loss builds upon artist Larassa Kabel’s frequent use of animals to explore difficult truths about love and death. Inspired by a small Bronze Age figure in The Menil Collection of Houston, TX, Kabel’s bronze sculpture uses a two-headed stag to represent the intrinsic ties between love and loss. The stags are modeled on fallow deer, …

River Constellation

M. Jessica Rowe

River Constellation is a responsive sculpture evoking a thicket of light and sound, honoring the donors who support Des Moines’ Water Works Park. Forty-five (45) ten-foot tall poles holding 12-inch diameter orbs that softly pulse with light are arranged to suggest the path of the Raccoon River through Water Works Park’s 1,500 acre natural environment. Individual rings mounted to the …

Even Water

M. Jessica Rowe

Water plays a critical role in a community’s quality of life, from public health and safety to recreation and beauty. Knowing what a watershed is and how we can each play a role in preserving its function and value is important but rarely understood. The West Des Moines Public Arts Advisory Commission use this public art initiative to raise awareness …

LOVE

M. Jessica Rowe

An icon of American Modern Art — LOVE — 1969-1999, is the signature work of art by artist Robert Indiana. The word Love in upper-case letters, arranged in a square with a tilted letter “O”. Beginning in 1964, Indiana began to create images and objects using the word LOVE. Indiana maintained that a single word could be a viable subject …

Iron Tree Trunk

M. Jessica Rowe

“Iron Tree Trunk” (2015) a life-sized cast of a tree found in the Jiangxi Province of Weiwei’s native China, unites individual pieces of iron into a whole structure. Its size comes matched by small nuances, down to tree rings around the base and weathered cracks in the bark. This massive cast of a tree references both the cultural tradition of …

RAGBRAI: River to River

M. Jessica Rowe

This public art work, RAGBRAI: River to River (working title), honors two individuals, John Karras and Donald Kaul, who founded RAGBRAI is the oldest, largest and longest recreational bicycle touring event in the world. RAGBRAI is an acronym and registered trademark for the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, which is a non-competitive bicycle ride organized by The Des Moines Register and …

Pumpkin (L)

M. Jessica Rowe

Yayoi Kusama’s family ran a seed and plant nursery in her native Japan, and the artist grew up surrounded by fields of plants. As a result, pumpkins, usually covered in the artist’s signature fields of polka dots, have appeared in her art since she was a young girl. “It seems pumpkins do not inspire much respect,” Kusama once said. “But …

Miffy Fountain

M. Jessica Rowe

All is flux, nothing stays still. A Greek quotation attributed to Heraclitus: “All is flux, nothing stays still”  is an appropriate way to begin to talk about Miffy Fountain.  The sight and sound of moving water is both stimulating and entrancing. Throughout history, people have attempted to shape and control this elusive element in fountains. From the beginning, fountains have …

Gray’s Lake Bridge

M. Jessica Rowe

Located in Gray’s Lake Park, Gray’s Lake Bridge is an urban gem. After extensive renovations, the area opened as a City park in 2001. It has drawn people looking for a place of peaceful retreat and outdoor recreation and provides a beautiful gateway to downtown Des Moines. In 1998, David and Elizabeth Kruidenier came forward with a vision for Grays Lake Park and …

Volutes Tapestry

M. Jessica Rowe

The Volutes Tapestry, 98 h x 75 w inches (249 x 190 cm) was designed in 1959 by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, one of the great European pioneers of modern art. His signature is woven in the reverse side. “Volutes” is a French word for an architectural description of a kind of scrollwork of shells. This work was made from …

Tall Grass Tapestry

M. Jessica Rowe

In creating the concept design for this project, Troy Corliss considered the public viewing opportunities for the suspended art on the second floor of the waiting area at the DART Central Station. He believed that a colorful and translucent tapestry symbolizing the tall grass prairie will produce a vibrant and intriguing image above the main entrance of the building. The suspended …

4th & Walnut Looking West ca 1906

M. Jessica Rowe

A mural painting by Doug Shelton is located in the lobby of the former Hotel Kirkwood, 400 Walnut St., Des Moines. The Hotel Kirkwood, built in 1930, is located in the heart of downtown Des Moines. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.      

The Pipes of Pan

M. Jessica Rowe

Made of welded CorTen steel (corrosion resistant steel) and malleable iron, The Pipes of Pan measures 282 inches (23 feet, 6 inches) high and 22 inches in diameter.  It was commissioned in 1992 for one of the first interactive science centers in the world—the Science Center of Iowa. This outdoor public installation was created for the Science Center’s original site in Greenwood Park.  Featured are a large …

Transportion Signature

M. Jessica Rowe

Transportation Signature was created by artist David Dahlquist and RDG IA Inc. (dba RDG Dahlquist Art Studio) for theDes Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) in downtown Des Moines. This screen-wall is located just south of DART’s multi-modal hub, based on the words “Des Moines” written in script.     The commission was approved in 2012. The project, 9-feet height and 180-feet long, …

Untitled

Untitled

Larry Bradshaw

Rainy Day in Des Moines

Rainy Day in Des Moines

Larry Bradshaw

The mural Rainy Day in Des Moines is no longer accessible. Since 2016, an interior wall on the 2nd floor (skywalk level) of the Equitable Building has covered the mural. Doug Shelton’s mural captures a historical street view of the 19-story Equitable Building which towered above Des Moines’ skyline at 604 Locust Street when completed in 1924. It remained the tallest building …

Untitled

Untitled

Larry Bradshaw

According to the artist, this 2001-2003 sculpture references real psychological states and human movement that are caught between implosion and explosion, between troubling collapse and exuberant release. The author Michele Gerber Klein suggested that the artist’s “work is about longing and impossibility.” Here Shapiro courts gravity as a sculptural partner, and his sculpture plays with gravity’s pull in an interactive …

Untitled

Untitled

Larry Bradshaw

This monumental sculpture is characteristic of the brilliant geometric forms which James Rosati created. It is made up of elements that are rectilinear, but no two lines or planes are parallel. Because of the angles of the planes in these non-symmetrical elements, the forms seem to advance or recede in space. This sense of movement is enhanced by the changing …

Untitled

Larry Bradshaw

Ellsworth Kelly’s visual vocabulary is drawn from observation of the world around him—shapes and colors found in plants, architecture, shadows on a wall or a lake. This creative way of communicating has been shaped by his interest in the spaces between places and objects and between his work and its viewers. The artist has said, “In my work, I don’t …

Swirl

Larry Bradshaw

This unique public artwork is titled “Swirl ” — the sculpture’s depth is 28 feet, width is 94 feet, and height is 28 feet. Swirl is made up of nine stainless steel uprights and more than 8,000 LED lights that are suspended in the air. The LED lights are programed to display prerecorded images each night at dusk [after sunset and just before night] …

High Trestle Trail Bridge

High Trestle Trail Bridge

Larry Bradshaw

The High Trestle Bridge stands 13 stories high and spans ½ mile across the Des Moines River between Madrid and Woodward. The “portals” or vertical elements that form a gateway to the Des Moines River Bridge are sculptural symbols that speak to this geology, the cutting and slicing of nature that forms this river valley. Seen from a distance, they …

Thinker on a Rock

Thinker on a Rock

Larry Bradshaw

In “Thinker on a Rock” the artist substitutes his signature hare for Rodin’s Thinker (1880), making a witty and irreverent reference to one of the world’s best-known sculptures. Other Barry Flanagan statues of “Thinker on a Rock” are located in Utrecht, Netherlands and in Washington, D.C. in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden.

In the Morning

Larry Bradshaw

In the Morning” is a a cast bronze sculpture, initially formed in clay from a model during a workshop in Upstate New York. Although Anthony Caro is best known for his abstract sculpture in steel and other materials, he is no stranger to the figure. His conversion to abstraction took place after a visit to the US in 1959, but …

The Seam

The Seam

Larry Bradshaw

[…] the front of Principal Park in Des Moines frames the steel sculpture of a stylized baseball by Iowa sculptor James Ellwanger. [Made of Galvanized steel, aluminum chip paint], the sculpture honors former Iowa Cubs owner Ken Grandquist (1923-1999) and is a gift from his family. A plaque there says, “Like the seams of a baseball which never end, Ken …

Five Plate Pentagon

Five Plate Pentagon

Larry Bradshaw

Despite steel’s well established use in 20th-century sculpture, Richard Serra chose to work with this medium in part because he felt the ubiquitous metal art of the time was not using the material for it’s inherent qualities-qualities he understood because of his early jobs at steel yards. Of this he said, “It had not been used for its weight, its …

White Ghost

White Ghost

Larry Bradshaw

Nara, who often uses dogs and children as subjects in his work, has uniquely combined the two for “White Ghost.” The sculptures are glossy white fiberglass, and sit on rough stone-like bases, referencing how artifacts and monuments from the past often appear in museums. By presenting the sculptures in such a way, he considers the future ruins of his own …

Disney Murals

Disney Murals

Larry Bradshaw

Anna and A.H. Blank established the Raymond Blank Memorial Hospital for Children in Des Moines in 1944 in honor of their son, who died at the young age of 33. It was the only civilian hospital built during WWII. A.H. Blank, known for his generous holiday parties for patients, was a philanthropist who had made his fortune in the movie theater …

Life Flight Crew Memorial

Life Flight Crew Memorial

Larry Bradshaw

The “Life Flight Memorial” is composed of four bronze life size, female figures and serves as a monument to the crews of Life Flight helicopters. Dimensions: four life size figures, 64″ X 88″ X 52″  

Rack ’n’ Roll Project

“Rack-n-Roll” Project

Larry Bradshaw

The East Village “Rack-n-Roll Project” was funded in part and guided by the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation. The project was an open competition, resulting in over 20 entries from Iowa artists. The bicycle “art racks” are functional pieces that serve the dual purpose of securing bicycles while introducing public art into the East Village streetscape. The bicycle art …

Crown

Crown

Larry Bradshaw

In 2011, ASI Custom Sheet Metal, Inc. was contacted by Des Moines artist, James Ellwanger, to build a life size replica of the Statue of Liberty’s crown to be placed atop of the new Exile Brewing Company restaurant in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. Framed of a steel structure and then cladded in copper, the life sized crown measures approximately 30ft …

A Social History of Des Moines

A Social History of Des Moines

Larry Bradshaw

The mural cycle took from September 1937 to December 1941 to complete. Artist Harry Donald Jones was assisted by three other artists, Opal Adams, Paul Paffinbarger, and Paul Backensten, and a crew of 18 WPA workers, mainly plasterers. Historian and author Gregg R. Narber Ph.D. wrote in 1982: “The Children’s Reading Room was decorated under the WPA in true fresco on …

Standing Stones

Standing Stones

Larry Bradshaw

The artist’s site-specific sculpture celebrates the rise and fall of the land and experience of seeing the work through walking or driving past the Des Moines Art Center. The hill shifts in two directions and the stones mark the shift in the landscape. Intended to be human scale, the approximately five (5) feet high stones were quarried in Sweden. A …

Granite Tree

Granite Tree

Larry Bradshaw

Texas pink granite.

Dephinus

Dephinus

Larry Bradshaw

“Dephinus” is the latin word for Dolphin. In contemporary use, the word is used to refer to the genus name of the common dolphin in taxonomy and to a constellation that was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer, Ptolemy. Although Dolphins are generally considered to be benign and intelligent creatures, the bronze sculpture by the artist Eric …

T8

T-8

Larry Bradshaw

T8 is a bold, dynamic work that punctuates the urban street corner as traffic flows east along Locust Street. This monumental piece has consistently drawn critical acclaim, confronting audiences with a vivid orange-red color and mesmerizing even the casual passer-by with subtle energy and intricate proportion.The artist draws inspiration from many sources including mathematics, physics, music, poetry and astronomy. From …

Folded Circle Zig

Folded Circle Zig

Larry Bradshaw

The “Folded” concept is a central form in Benton’s work.  As suggested by its title, Folded Circle Zig, the piece consists of circular, pie-shaped slices, and zig forms. They are engaged in a dynamic rhythmic interaction with each other and with the negative space suggested by the solid forms; the void is a vital element of the sculpture.

A Veteran’s Prayer for Eternal Peace

A Veteran’s Prayer for Eternal Peace

Larry Bradshaw

A Veteran’s Prayer for Eternal Peace is a 15-foot-high, bronze sculpture at the center of a memorial to military chaplains. A large, cupped pair of hands is supported by a series of short poles. The hands are in the center of a circular plaza with a walkway that includes benches, depictions of chaplains, and symbols of religious beliefs.

John Ruan, Sr.

John Ruan, Sr.

Larry Bradshaw

Portrayed in his signature bowtie and business suit, this sculpture depicts Des Moines entrepreneur John Ruan, Sr. (1914-2010). Ruan established the foundation that sponsors the World Food Prize. The Prize honors the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. The sculpture of John Ruan is sited so …

Slides

Slides

Larry Bradshaw

The painted and fused glass installation called “Slides” is integrated into the Laboratory’s visitor entrance. It is arranged within a triangular-shaped atrium. The exterior glass walls are faced with either a grid or row of glass sheets imprinted with a countryside vista or detail. There are four layers of translucent panels positioned in front of each scene of nature. This …

Three Way Piece No. 1: Points

Three Way Piece No. 1: Points

Larry Bradshaw

From an edition of 3: The other two casts of “Three Way Piece No. 1: Points are located at the Law School Garden at Columbia University, New York, and in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.

Back of Snowman

Back of a Snowman (Black)

Larry Bradshaw

In the audio guides available for free to John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park visitors, the Des Moines Art Center’s assistant curator Laura Burkhalter speaks with great interest about the glossy surfaces of this pair of sculptures by the British artist, Gary Hume. The work of the Young British Artists (YBA) group, with which Hume exhibited and is often associated, has many affinities with …

Reclining Figure

Larry Bradshaw

Willem de Kooning’s sculpture is the least-known aspect of his work. The sculpture, depicting de Kooning’s classic elemental woman.De Kooning made his first sculptures in 1969, a group of thirteen hand-sized bronzes based on the human figure. It was not until 1980, however, that he was able to complete the first of the monumental sculptures.

Temple Chess & Poetry Garden

Temple Chess & Poetry Garden

Larry Bradshaw

Not on view. Dedicated May 16, 2006, this work of art by the American artist Siah Armajani, is completed only when someone enters it, sits down to play chess or reads the poetry or in some way becomes a participant. Armajani has created such environments all over the world, and they all reflect his belief in public art. These public …

Nation at Play

Nation at Play

Larry Bradshaw

In the 1982 “A Catalog of New Des Mural Projects in Iowa”, co-authors Lea Rosson DeLong and Gregg R. Narber explained that the Chamberlain’s painting “portrays play and recreational activities of children: track, tennis, marbles, bike riding, band, boy scouts, and a flag raising.” In the 1930’s the famous  murals, under the direction of Grant Wood, were painted for the …

Dr. Norman E. Borlaug

Dr. Norman E. Borlaug

Larry Bradshaw

John Collier created this eight-foot statue of Dr. Norman E. Borlaug (1914 – 2009), the agronomist, humanitarian, father of the Green Revolution and founder of The World Food Prize. The artist depicts the scientist in his work clothes. The figure of Dr. Borlaug stands in the public gardens of the Borlaug Hall of Laureates and faces northwest towards his grandparents’ farm …

Air Gets Into Everything Even Nothing

air gets into everything even nothing

Larry Bradshaw

Fabricated in aluminum and coated in white enamel, Ugo Rondinone’s series of sculptures are cast from olive trees found in the countryside outside Naples, Italy—the hometown of the artist’s parents. Italian law mandated that rubber casts be done on-site. In the foundry, wax gave way to a final aluminum cast, painted in weather-resistant white paint and weighing approximately one ton. In …

Back of Snowman

Back of a Snowman (White)

Larry Bradshaw

Although the two Back of a Snowman sculptures present in the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park are displayed together, they are actually two distinct examples of a larger series of sculptures that are identical in their dimensions but vary in color. The simplified form that British artist, Gary Hume, refers to as “snowman” also appears in a series of paintings …

Allée

Allée

Larry Bradshaw

Widely recognized as a major figure in American art, Davis won many awards and received honors from various museums and art organizations throughout the 1950s. The” Allée” commission marked Stuart Davis’ return to mural painting after a fifteen year hiatus. Davis visited Drake University in June of 1954 to meet with Eero Saarinen to select a location for his commissioned …

Nation at Work

Nation at Work

Larry Bradshaw

In the 1982 “A Catalog of New Des Mural Projects in Iowa”, co-authors Lea Rosson DeLong and Gregg R. Narber explained that the Grooms’ painting “portrays school activities of children and, in its center, the adult world of work: two classrooms are shown, one obviously a biology class, as well as a shop classroom. The adult work shown is building, …

Quantum Leaf

Quantum Leaf

Larry Bradshaw

Quantum Leaf, about 15 feet in diameter and 11 feet in height and signed in the bronze “S PETTUS 2005”, looks like an oversized dying leaf with its edges curled. The sculpture was created as a fountain with water pouring from the leaf-form into a shallow circular pond. This public art project borders Grand Avenue, at the south edge of …

Moonrise, east. august

Moonrise, east. august

Larry Bradshaw

Rondinone’s series Moonrise—his 2005 figurative sculptures—are eight-foot-high busts derived from masks. Modeled in clay before being cast in aluminum and painted, the sculptures reveal the enduring marks of the artist’s hand. Rondinone has long been interested in the subject of time, and he represents it here by the relationship between moon, tide, and calendar.  One of a series of the twelve sculptures, it was …

Man and Pegasus

Man and Pegasus

Larry Bradshaw

Man and Pegasus was made in an edition of six. The artist installed one cast at his home and sculpture park in Sweden after his retirement in 1950. The other bronze casts are in an office plaza in Dallas; the Hakone Open-Air Museum in Japan; the Middleheim Sculpture Park in Antwerp; and in Djakarta, India.

Prairie Emergence

Prairie Emergence

Larry Bradshaw

Prairie Emergence represents prairie grasses sprouting from the earth.

Iowa Made: By Land and Hand

Iowa Made: By Land and Hand

Larry Bradshaw

“Iowa Made: By Land and Hand” (Diego Rivera meets Grant Wood) – Awarded by the Iowa State Fair Board of Trustees and the State of Iowa, the ceramic mural and floor medallion is the public art focal point at the south entrance to the Knapp Varied Industries Building.  The project “Iowa Made: By Land and Hand” (2002) is a 72 …

Spectral Liberation

Spectral Liberation

Larry Bradshaw

The sculpture is in commemoration of Constance “Connie” Newman Belin (1930-1980), a community leader and philanthropist. The work was given by Leonard and Eileen Newman, brother and sister-in-law.

21st Century

21st Boundary

Larry Bradshaw

The abstract steel sculpture is 252″ x 96″ x 48″.Savage & Ver Ploeg Inc., architectects ; Crose-Gardner & Associates, landscape architects.

A Monumental Journey by Kerry James Marshall, looking north, 25 July 2018, Commissioned by Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation

A Monumental Journey

Larry Bradshaw

NATIONAL RECOGNITION In 2019, the Americans for the Arts awarded A Monumental Journey one of the 50 best public art projects in North America. Honoring NBA Founders The project honors the National Bar Association founders: 12 courageous African-American attorneys who — in Des Moines, IA — changed the course of American history in 1925. At a time when the American …

Hills, Fields, Wind, and Rain

Hills, Fields, Wind, and Rain

Larry Bradshaw

This sculpture symbolizes the earth and the elements and their interaction. It fills a grassy island that is part of a popular business park in a northwest suburb of Des Moines and can be seen from Interstate 80.

Echo-Obelisk

Echo-Obelisk

Larry Bradshaw

The imagery recalls the history of Urbandale, Iowa, and a beacon marks a new destination/location.The Urbandale High School Corner Commission established a memorial on the south- west corner of 70th and Douglas to commemorate the school site. The 1925 cornerstone from the original brick building and plaques commemorating the graduating class members from 1937-1966 are part of the memorial. A …

Confluence

Confluence

Larry Bradshaw

Prominently featured in the main lobby of the 2012 central station of DART (Des Moines Area Regional Transit), Lynn Basa’s terrazzo floor design is made with crushed-up, recycled glass, mirror, and mother of pearl from old buttons. The stylized image hints at the city’s transportation history, with a DART route in yellow and gray stripes for the streets. Two blue …

Robert D. Ray Asian Gardens

Robert D. Ray Asian Gardens

Larry Bradshaw

The Robert D. Ray Asian Gardens features a 43.5′(L) x 24′ (W) x 37′(H) Asian pavilion atop an undulating bridge spanning a pond that cascades into the Des Moines River with a series of waterfalls. Accented by stone pagodas, lanterns and sculptural rock formations, the Asian garden’s flowing lyrical ambiance transports the strolling visitor to a picturesque Far Eastern paradise. …

Joy of Music

Joy of Music

Larry Bradshaw

The “Joy of Music” sculptures, life-size and cast bronze edition of 21, are located throughout the United States including in the Civic Center of Loveland, Colorado; Hastings College, Nebraska; Rodman Center for the Arts, Ripon College, Wisconsin; Dearborn, Michigan; Holland, Michigan; and in the house of the woman who inspired the work of art.

Prairie Winds

Prairie Winds

Larry Bradshaw

Prairie Wind dominates the lobby of a major downtown Des Moines building and is most often viewed from a skywalk level. Its arcs and dips illustrate the wind whipping through the prairie.Asked about his inspiration, Hornecker states: “My work is built around my interest in the history and topography of the landscape. Rivers, land forms, rocks, trees, and the way …

Paragon Prairie

Paragon Prairie

Larry Bradshaw

“Prairie Tower” is the largest Italian glass mosaic tile mural in the United States, and pays homage to the history of the native Iowa prairie. A double repeating pattern of native plants in a stylized deco landscape of field and sky serves as the image for the “Paragon Prairie Tower.” The main elements of the concept include the tower constructed …

Menorah

Menorah

Larry Bradshaw

The sculpture was commissioned by The Waldinger Foundation, Des Moines, Iowa, 1975. It was presented in 1975 to the Tifereth Israel Synagogue by the Waldinger and Duitch Families in loving memory of their dear parents and grandparents, Harry and Golda Waldinger, and Jacob and Jessie Duitch, on the 75th anniversary of the congregation.

Five Stones, One Tree

Five Stones, One Tree

Larry Bradshaw

Four towering, grey limestone blocks stand on this site: two rough-cut pillars, each comprised of two stones, were erected so that their extreme edges are about 22-feet apart. The four mammoth stones are paired so that their smoothly textured (opposite) sides face east/west and their adjacent surfaces that bulge with weathered, geological accretions face north/south. The fifth stone cube, a …

Decoy

Decoy

Larry Bradshaw

Decoy is a bronze-sculpture by the artist Martin Puryear that is composed of two elements, a large, circular disk that appears to hover a few inches off the ground and a periscope-like appendage that protrudes from the edge of the disk. The perception that the base of the sculpture is hovering can be understood in relation to the title of the work; it …

US Senator William Boyd Allison Monument

US Senator William Boyd Allison Monument

Larry Bradshaw

  About the Project Designed by Evelyn B. Longman of New York, the monument’s  central plaque picturing Allison is flanked by symbols of “Knowledge” on the left and “Peace” on the right. The former is followed by “Legislature” and “Financial Prosperity,” the latter by “Humanity” and “Agricultural Prosperity.”  The topmost figure, “The Republic.”   About William B. Allison In 1917, …

XII

XII

Larry Bradshaw

Hand and Land: Fingerprint

Hand and Land: Fingerprint

Larry Bradshaw

Fabricated by the artists of RDG Dahlquist Art Studio including: Jen Anderson, Larry Bredeson, Jeff Blosser, Darla DeGroot, Brian Frederiksen, Chad French, Matt Johnson, Justin Richert, Chris Rodi, and Rick Stewart. Special recognition to Don Scandrett for stained glass fabrication. Additional services were provided by Travis Rice, with metal work by Jim Dawson, Ken Hyde and Josh Crook of Iowa …

Plains Aurora

Plains Aurora

Larry Bradshaw

Cork Marcheschi, currently living in San Francisco, CA, was commissioned in 1986 to create “Plains Aurora” for the State Historical Building. The Historical Building is located near the Iowa State Capitol on the east end of downtown Des Moines (today known as the Historic East Village). “Plains Aurora,” a 32-foot sculpture, is made of sandblasted glass blocks on the exterior, …

Family at Corner

Family at Corner

Larry Bradshaw

The sculpture called “Family at Corner” was created by Watson Powell, Jr. , who served as chairman, CEO and president of American Republic Insurance Company.  Following the path made from a drawing by Powell, and the work was cut from a flat-sheet of bronze using a laser cutter.  The figurative elements were welded together to create the grouping. In 1967, …

A Shift in the Stream

A Shift in the Stream

Larry Bradshaw

At the beginning of 1995, nationally renowned artist, sculptor and architect Maya Lin (known for her design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial) was invited by the Principal Financial Group to create a work of art in conjunction with the construction of a new building on its corporate campus. The title of the work, A Shift in the Stream, refers to …

Les Vents

Les Vents

Larry Bradshaw

Edward Lee Hendricks’ trio of kinetic sculptures, called Les Vents (“The Winds”), are made of aluminum and stainless steel. Carefully crafted, these three graceful, precisely calibrated sculptures move with the wind at unpredictable intervals.  Each calls attention to the effects of wind, light, and the changing surroundings. The sculptures are sited in Western Gateway Park, between the Central Public Library …

Untitled

Untitled

Larry Bradshaw

Characteristic of Shapiro’s dynamic work composed of simple rectangular shapes, the bronze Untitled (1985) figure leans back on one arm, with its legs splayed widely across the platform. The fourth appendage can be read as either a downturned head or the second arm reaching upward. The artist’s figures are often posed awkwardly, seeming off balance or in the midst of an ungraceful motion, …

Greenfall

Greenfall

Larry Bradshaw

Greenfall grew from a 1986 bronze relief sculpture, titled Critical Juncture/ Fluid Boundary, depicting the clash of cultures between native inhabitants and early white settlers in Iowa. The original concept for Critical Juncture/Fluid Boundary called for a 38-foot wide waterfall to interact with the bronze relief. Greenfall simulates falling water with greenery and one-inch thick curved stainless steel rods spaced each foot along …

Sphere Within a Sphere

Larry Bradshaw

Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro’s 18,000-pound outdoor sculpture, “Sphere Within Sphere,” marks the building’s entrance. Set on an axis, the bronze sculpture revolves like a globe. Pomodoro is known for his sphere sculptures; his most famous are at Vatican City in Rome, Italy and the United Nations headquarters in New York. The artist said, “[the sculpture] reflects and accommodates the environment …

Wall Drawing #601, Forms Derived from the Cube

Wall Drawing #601, Forms Derived from the Cube

Larry Bradshaw

This architecturally scaled artwork was made for the I.M. Pei addition at the Des Moines Art Center. In the lobby of this corporate building, it’s deceptively simple geometric structures have been recreated with eye-candy opulence from the same seemingly prosaic instructions he detailed in 1989. LeWitt stressed the idea behind his work over its execution. This wall drawing began as …

The Big Question

The Big Question

Larry Bradshaw

The plaza of the Science Center of Iowa serves as a gathering place, a play area, and a science exhibit. The Big Question project transformed the area into an environment that brings to the outside of the building a sense of wonder and inquiry that visitors experience inside the Science Center. The Big Question plays with scale, encompassing infinitesimally small …

Construction

Construction

Larry Bradshaw

Construction is a billboard-sized outdoor installation with a dense arrangement of vertical, variegated, steel components. The variety of bright colors and orientations, and their placement at different heights is both irregular and rhythmic. Their arrangement evokes both the bold aesthetic of commercial branding, for which the artist, Ivan Chermayeff, became famous, and the experiments in color relationships and abstraction pioneered by artists like …

Steadfast

Steadfast

Larry Bradshaw

Steadfastis fabricated from steel and painted; its dimensions are 151 x 72 x 21 inches (383.5 x 182.8 x 53.3 cm). The sculpture was completed in 2000 and installed at its current location in 2008.

Yesterday

Yesterday

Larry Bradshaw

The piece is sculpted in hot wax over metal armature, then cast into bronze.

Lincoln and Tad

Lincoln and Tad

Larry Bradshaw

Created by artists Fred Martin and Mabel Landrum Torrey of Des Moines, this sculpture is titled Lincoln and Tad. It was dedicated 19 November 1961 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. A unique, bronze work of public art, the Torreys’ Lincoln and Tad is the first sculpture that memorializes  Abraham Lincoln as a father, rather than as …

Nomade

Nomade

Larry Bradshaw

The sculpture originally appeared in Antibes in the summer of 2007. During the closing of the Musée Picasso from March 2006 to July 2008, the deputy mayor of Antibes requested an outdoor project from curator Jean-Louis Andral. One of his leads was Plensa, as Andral was familiar with his monumental work in several metropolises throughout the world. The artist was …

Wall Drawing 1238, Whirls and Twirls “p”

Wall Drawing 1238, Whirls and Twirls

Larry Bradshaw

The curvilinear forms as complements to the undulating landscape, while the vivid colors provided a bold contrast with the gray tones of the interior lobby. “Whirls and Twirls” is an example of LeWitt’s highly saturated colorful later works made in acrylic. While the forms are curvilinear, playful and seem almost random, they are drawn according to an exacting set of …

Untitled (Three Dancing Figures, version C)

Untitled (Three Dancing Figures, version C)

Larry Bradshaw

Created in primary colors, Untitled (Three Dancing Figures, Version C)  is a “tribute to Keith Haring’s love of music and club culture of the 1980s,” said Gilbert Vicario, who is currently Chief Curator of the Phoenix Art Museum. He went on to say: “The imposing sculpture, although very different from the ephemeral, quickly rendered wall murals that he is known for, celebrates …

Ancient Forest

Ancient Forest

Larry Bradshaw

Ancient Forest was commissioned by John and Mary Pappajohn for the Sculpture Park. Deborah Butterfield uses found materials and assembles them into horse-shaped sculptures that vary in size and media, although most often are comprised of wood.This particular sculpture, at first glance, appears to be composed of bundles of logs and tree-branches (an appearance that conforms to her preference for found materials). However, …