A mock-up of the sculpture by Juan and Patricia Navarrete to be placed in the East Side Roundabout in Norman.
Norman Public Art:
29-Foot Sculpture in East Side Roundabout by Susan Grossman It took one year, 700 pages of documentation, 62 proposals, 24 semifinalists, 10 finalists, three models and one winner. Those numbers tell the story of the Norman Public Arts Board and the Norman Arts Council collaborative process for selecting a sculpture planned for a busy intersection on the east side of town. Indian Grass by husband and wife team Juan and Patricia Navarrete of Taos, New Mexico was the favorite among three finalists and chosen in June. The 29-foot high sculpture will be made of steel and glass and represents hardy prairie grass, an important aspect of Oklahoma’s environmental history. The Navarrete sculpture was designed specifically for the East Main Roundabout, located at the intersection of East Main Street, Carter Avenue, and Acres Street on the east side of Norman. A panel comprised of longtime Norman residents, City of Norman staff and local business people, along with the arts board and arts council studied the various proposals and ultimately narrowed the field to three. During a twoweek viewing at Norman Public Library, residents weighed in on their favorite of the three finalists. It was a clear winner, said Larry Walker, chair of the Norman Public Arts Board. “Judging from the many comments we got, residents liked the abstract pieces best,” he said. “This piece got the public’s highest marks.” The other two finalists included Spirit of the Prairies by Garegin Davtyan from Yerevan, Armenia which was a large buffalo and Native American combination and Selu by Howard Kalish of Brooklyn, New York who proposed a 25-foot piece composed of brightly painted aluminum tubes.
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Artists were asked to present sculptural proposals that represented the spirit of central Oklahoma. The Navarrete piece, which features five stalks of grass at varying heights, will be composed of Corten steel and is designed to convey the idea of sustainability. The grass seed pods will be constructed out of stainless steel which will reflect light from the grass bristles, composed of a combination of Dichroic and safety glass. The glass refracts light in different colors and vibrancy when viewed from different directions. The base of the sculpture is 8-feet in diameter and spans 24-feet. The seedpods are curvi-linear formations and will either be 3-by-1.5-feet or 2.5-feet-by-1.3-feet. Jana Moring, a member of the Norman Public Arts Board, said structural engineering was one of the key factors in narrowing down the submissions. “What I discovered during the selection process was that this kind of environmental art requires sound structural engineering practices,” she said. “The roundabout space is huge and the piece needs to fill it. We not only needed a piece the appropriate size but also the engineering knowledge to execute it.” The selection marks a first for the Public Arts Board. In 2006, Norman City Council designated downtown Norman as an “arts district” and in 2007 created the Norman Public Arts Board to develop long range plans for expanding public art in the city. Walker said currently there are 20 public arts pieces in various forms around Norman but there has been no concerted effort to raise private funds to execute a more long range vision. “Outside the University of Oklahoma, which has supported public art for quite some time,
Legacy Trail in central Norman features a number of pieces,” he said. “Also in the City’s collection are pieces in a few city parks, the Veterans Memorial at Reaves Park, the Centennial Clock and statue of James Garner in downtown Norman, a tribute to the North Base Aviators and bronze historical cityscapes in Legacy Trail, and a statue of Abner Norman at City Hall.” In addition, the city has received contributions for public art placements at Norman Public Library, City Hall, and street medians on West Main Street and South Classen. Walker said that the roundabout is the perfect choice for the city’s concentrated public art effort. “More than 9,000 cars go by that area every day,” he said. “It is on the eastern most edge of central Norman and near the original town site of Norman. This location is on a major artery to downtown.” City of Norman will design, install and maintain landscaping in the roundabout area. A public unveiling is planned for December. The Norman Public Arts Board is continuing to solicit donations for the $60,000 sculpture through tax deductible gifts to the Norman Arts Council’s Art in Public Places Fund. The fund is also supported through voluntary monthly donations in citizen’s utility bills. For more information contact the Norman Arts Council, 210 E. Main Street, Norman, OK, 73069 or call 405-360-1162 n Susan Grossman is assistant director of marketing for University of Oklahoma Outreach and a freelance writer based in Norman. She can be reached at susangrossman@cox.net.