Public Art - Springfield, Missouri

Forces of Nature: Blue Skies, Slinkys, and Hurricanes
Sculpture Walk Springfield
May 2021-April 2022

Thank you to all the curators, coordinators, and crew for selecting and supporting the installation of this trio of sculptures into the 2021 Sculpture Walk Springfield. Thank you to Missouri State University especially Associate Professor of Sculpture Deidre Argyle and the Sculpture students for their installation help and for being some of the first audience members to put the sculptures to use.

Forces of Nature: Blue Skies, Slinkys, and Hurricanes, 2020
Dimensions: three sculptures with the largest 18in x 72in x 81in
Media: steel, blue PEX tubing, hardware, and artificial grass

Inspired by diagrams of hurricane development and the spring movement of the “wonderful toy” Slinky (as the longest-running jingle in advertising history so memorably describes it), this delightful installation features three circular forms that appear to be large Slinkys connected at the ends into rings and circling perfectly-maintained “lawns” of artificial grass.

Reminiscent of inner tubes easing down a lazy river or bean bags in a living room, these sculptures provide playful, unusual benches with calm grassy centers at the eye of each storm.

Sculpture Walk Springfield
https://sculpturewalkspringfield.org/

A museum without walls with access to all is our vision. Our mission is “to enhance the quality of life and to promote economic vitality through the artistic transformation of Springfield with outdoor sculpture.” Public art has proven itself to play a major role in rejuvenating public spaces and local economies in places as diverse as Chicago, Illinois and Asheville, North Carolina. Sculpture Walk Springfield is an initiative aimed at creating such a museum, by displaying quality sculptures in public places in Springfield on an annually rotating schedule.

Special Thanks to:
City of Springfield, MO
Community Foundation of the Ozarks
Springfield Art Museum
Springfield Regional Arts Council
Judith Enyeart Reynolds College of Arts & Letters, Missouri State University