| Subject: new Milw art |
Author:
krz
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Date Posted: 11/23/04 12:35:19pm
after the Blue Shirt died.... Nice photo of the proposed sculpture on the web site
http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/nov04/277677.asp?format=print
The folks who mistakenly thought the proposed “Blue Shirt” sculpture at Mitchell International Airport was a rip on this city’s blue-collar roots should be pleased with what another artist has envisioned for Milwaukee’s lakefront.
'Wind Leaves'
Illustration/Ned Kahn
California artist Ned Kahn designed 'Wind Leaves' for Milwaukee's lakefront.
Recent Coverage
11/19/04: A forest of a different nature
Online: Ned Kahn
The inspiration, in this case, is nature, including the trees and the lakefront breezes in which Milwaukeeans have long taken ample pride.
Titled “Wind Leaves,” the sculpture by California-based artist Ned Kahn seems like a perfectly fitting piece of art for the city’s front yard.
The sculpture would consist of nine metal columns, each about 36 feet tall, supporting thousands of wind-animated stainless-steel discs on ball bearings that would ripple in the wind.
Equally intriguing, because the discs are metallic, they would reflect their surroundings - including the sky, grass and trees - in the proposed location in Veterans Park just east of the Juneau lagoon. The sculpture would be relatively compact in size - taking up a circular area about 150 feet in diameter.
And it would be truly interactive - with both nature and passers-by, who will be able to turn the “leaf” blades by manipulating a sort of steering wheel.
Unlike the “Blue Shirt,” Kahn’s project appears to be gliding along without much controversy, which, after the unfortunate stir over the shirt, is refreshing.
The project was endorsed last week by the Lakefront Development Advisory Commission, a significant accomplishment since the commission was created to screen what should and should not go on the lakefront. The project next goes to the Milwaukee County Board’s Parks Committee.
Perhaps the best news for taxpayers concerned about the cost is that the entire expense, estimated at $500,000, will be borne by an anonymous donor, who, according to Sue Black, the county’s parks superintendent, has long been interested in bringing fine art to this community.
The donor would also set up an endowment to cover the cost of long-term maintenance of the piece.
Naturally, there still are questions to be asked and hurdles to be cleared. But we hope, especially after hanging the “Blue Shirt” out to dry, that this community would keep a genuinely open mind on what sounds like a whimsical tribute to Milwaukee and its marvelous lakefront.
From the Nov. 23, 2004, editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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