Miffy Fountain
Miffy is a cute little bunny who is the star of an internationally renowned series of children’s books that follow her innocent adventures. Drawn with simple lines and flat, bright colors, she has become an icon of childhood, with almost 40 Miffy books translated into over 50 languages. Miffy is also a merchandising giant, with her features found on dozens …
Plantoir
Created in 2001 by artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Plantoir is an example of the oversized versions of everyday objects for which the artists are so well known. The artists’s representation of a common gardening tool is easily recognized, but they alter it so that we see its form in an entirely new way. The most important change …
Swirl
ABOUT SWIRL AND THE ARTIST The idea of having an electronic installation in Cowles Commons came about several years ago, in 2008, during the planning of Nollen Plaza’s transformation into what would become Cowles Commons. Artist Jim Campbell was involved from the start on a design team with Des Moines-area landscape architect Ken Smith. Campbell knew he wanted to incorporate …
Crusoe Umbrella
Artwork bio Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, partners in love and art, were inspired with the idea of creating a public work of art after visiting Bruggen’s father, who began growing a long beard. This beard reminded them of the castaway character, Robinson Crusoe, from Daniel Defoe’s 1719 novel. Upon visiting Nollen Plaza (now Cowles Commons), the pair imagined …
Expansion
Piece: Expansion is a colorful artwork by creative and acclaimed artist Jun Kaneko, commissioned in April 2012 and installed in late October 2013 at the Court Avenue Pump House. The piece is lit from behind with 39,060 LED lights, and “talks” with Kaneko’s Five Dangos (“dumpling” in Japanese) just yards away in the Hubspot Plaza. This 15-foot high by 21-foot …
A Monumental Journey
Artist Kerry James Marshall has created a striking physical monument representing 12 brave Des Moines-area African American attorneys who formed the National Bar Association in 1925. At that time, Black Americans were denied membership to national legal associations like the American Bar Association, and these 12 attorneys wanted to form an association of support, power, and acceptance. The sculptural shape …
Westward
Extending the full width of the east wall over the staircase in the Iowa State Capitol is the great mural painting, Westward. This painting represents early pioneers traveling through Iowa. Pioneers are led across the West by “Spirits of Enlightenment,” symbolized by the air-borne female holding an open book, and “Civilization,” symbolized by similar figures sowing grain. The “Spirits of …
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