Columbus Public Art, 3

Columbus sculptor Martin Beach created the 8,000-pound mesabi black granite, which came from a Babbit, Minnesota quarry. The sculpture is an obelisk form consisting of two stacked, black granite stones, creating a modern and minimal interpretation of a totem, an ancient symbol of community, gathering, and family. “At the same time, I am implying that extension of the vertical infinite, creating an upward swirl of motion that forms a fluctuating visual energy,” said sculptor Beach. “My hope is the sculpture is not interpreted as a static and stoic form, but one that is very much alive.” The library’s stone steps came from the same quarry as these granite stones.

• See more sculpture by Martin Beach 
• See a feature and more photos (on p. 84)
• See photos from the installation 

First Christian Church, Columbus
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The Sermon on the Mount tapestry was designed by Eliel and Loja Saarinen, woven by Loja Saarinen and a group of weavers at the Cranbrook Academy, and installed in 1942. The tapestry depicts 13 colorfully-robed people stand amongst vines and branches with birds, sheep, and other animals. They gaze up towards Jesus who has many arcs and halos irradiating from him. It hangs in the sanctuary to the proper left of the large wooden cross. When it was installed, it was the largest hand-woven tapestry in the United States.

The tapestry is approximately twelve feet by twenty nine feet, it was refurbished in New York City in 1992.

Loja Saarinen, wife of Eliel, established Studio Loja Saarinen at Cranbrook in 1928. She managed the commercial weaving studio until 1942. The studio created textiles, much of it for Cranbrook, including rugs, window treatments, and upholstery fabrics for Kingswood School Cranbrook (a school for girls founded in 1931) and the Saarinens’ Cranbrook residence. The studio’s primarily Swedish weavers used a traditional Scandinavian ryijy technique, hand knotting tufts as they wove.

Excerpts from the blog Cranbrook Kitchen Sink, by Kevin Adkisson, Curatorial Associate:

• While Kingswood alumnae will recognize Studio Loja Saarinen’s largest weaving at Cranbrook, The Festival of the May Queen, did you know there’s an even larger piece by the studio off campus?
• Ordered in connection with Eliel Saarinen’s commission for the Tabernacle Church of Christ in Columbus, Indiana (today the First Christian Church), the monumental Sermon on the Mount hanging was an artistic and technical triumph completed by Studio Loja Saarinen in 1941.
• Eliel Saarinen likely produced the sketch of the hanging, an unsigned colored pencil and gouache drawing now in Cranbrook Art Museum. Interestingly, this is the only textile with a religious subject to come out of the Saarinen studio.
• The Columbus tapestry was woven by two Swedish weavers who’d worked for Studio Loja Saarinen (intermittently) since 1929: Lillian Holm, who also taught at Kingswood from 1933 until 1966, and Ruth Ingvarson.
• Once installed in Indiana, the weaving completed the remarkable church by Eliel Saarinen. Protected by curtains meant to shield the hanging from light and smoke, The Sermon on the Mount hangs opposite a wooden organ screen, which itself reads like a tapestry. Outside, the building façade and its glass-illuminated bell tower take on the grid and rhythm of weaving. Even the meandering lines and subtle arcs of the stone architectural ornament relates back to the design of The Sermon on the Mount.

A creative hub and budding arts alley for programs and community activities, at the heart of the city and just steps from downtown shops and eateries.

This urban activation project was designed by LAA Office. Learn more on the Sixth Street page >

Created by local artist, Rick Bauer, Skopos translates as “the watcher” in Greek, the name selected through a local contest. During the flood of 2008, the one-ton work floated away (it hadn’t been secured to its base since it was so heavy) and was found downstream weeks later. Bauer returned to Columbus to oversee the restoration and re-installation. Bauer also created “Cannon,” located in Donner Park.

Created by artist Howard Meehan, Transformation is a stainless steel sculpture with three pillars of lighted glass and a polished steel ring. The surrounding concrete wall features a quote by Benjamin Disraeli. Meehan said the three panes of glass represent life, liberty, and the pursuit of learning, as well as the collaboration between IUPUC, Ivy Tech, and the City of Columbus.

Meehan said, “The benchmark is so high in this little community. I talk to a lot of architects, friends of mind, and they are very envious of me doing a project in this community because it’s such an outstanding place for art and architecture. So I’m very proud to have a piece here, very very proud.”

• Howard Meehan’s website

[ Currently being restored ]

Located behind the Bartholomew County School Headquarters on Central Avenue, at 1526 13th Street, Columbus
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Created by J. Seward Johnson Jr., this piece was commissioned by Arvin for display in remembrance of their very first product, a tire pump. Cast in bronze, the clothing on the human figures is actual clothing preserved using a patina and lacquer process that the artist developed.

• See many more photos and read more about this work

Lucy Slivinski assembled this on the lawn of City Hall in 2006, and it now resides at the Columbus Recycling Center. The piece incorporates scrap metal found locally and bike frames from Chicago, her hometown. The name was inspired by fungal formations seen by the artist while she was hiking in the Yellowwood Forest near Columbus.

• Lucy Slivinski website