Dear editor,
The headline of your column in Saturday’s edition confused me at first, then I realized it probably should have read: “Even if non-functional, art has a way of making life better.”
That said, I truly appreciate the commentary that the idea of an art installation at the intersection of U.S. 54 and U.S. 169 has merit. It will, in the end, put Iola on the map, in more ways than one. My job, as I see it, is to try to design and conceive an installation that is not only eye-catching, but thought-provoking as well. To that end, I continue to try new and more relevant designs that I feel are worthy of representing our community and the surrounding area. The drawings of the sculptures published so far are ones conceived of as a bare-bones cost-reduction model that could be built with the least expense for materials and labor. I stand by the design, but now that I know there is more money than I originally thought available for this project, I am letting my imagination stretch from the merely practical into the realm of the ideal. In truth, the costs are not all that different. Size matters in monumental art, and the sculptures need to be 40-50 feet tall or more. There is a giant Holstein cow sculpture 40 feet tall made of fiberglass in New Salem, N.D., that was built in 1974 for $40,000. The design I’m proposing has slowly changing colored lights inside each of the four sculptures that will glow at night. Adding solar power and computer-based lighting effects, I’m estimating the installation will cost in the neighborhood of $400,000.
The function of this art installation is pretty straight-forward; to attract attention in a positive way, and to enhance Iola’s (and Allen County’s) brand. Design-wise, I feel it needs to reflect the people, their technology, and global awareness into which the world is inextricably moving. In clarifying the shapes, I realized that social media has influenced my decision to distill everything down to its essentials, simplifying the conveyance between art and the viewer. This new design incorporates figurative references into an idea, a statement: Communication is the very basis of a community.
I hope you and your readers approve.
Very sincerely yours,
Tom Ellis, artist
Iola, Kan.
Letter to the editor — December 6, 2017
