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Description:
The
artist has been inspired by both the former raging river edge and
the name Riverside to create a memory of what was once along the
former river-turned-lake. When the river was an active habitat,
significant bosques of mesquite, willow and cottonwood with accents
of reeds and cattails were fed by the rich soil and abundant waters
where wildlife once flourished. This piece is, therefore, a
celebration of the river. The rusted steel poles placed at numerous
angles and heights pay homage to the bosques that once lined the
river, while abstracted birds are positioned on similar rusted poles
to appear to be in flight toward a new water body: the Town Lake. In
addition, over-scaled, rust-finished steel cattails inside a mass
planting of Giant Hesperaloe recall the riparian ground plane of a
river’s side. The river stones that once defined a beach have been
gathered and are held in place by a rusted steel grid work in the
form of retaining walls which hold the building pads. The retained
layers are planted with masses of Evening Primrose, Deer Grass and
Desert Museum Palo Verde, creating a beautiful desert garden. This
garden, or outdoor room, is defined by a grand lawn in the midst of
the bosque homage, the result of which creates a contrast between
the former and the now deceased riverside bosque and a renewed fresh
plane of green grass to celebrate the renewal of life on the
riverside.
Funding:
The project was funded through city of Tempe Capital Improvement
Project Percent for Art Funds made available through the Tempe
transit tax.
Artist biography:
Brant has
more than 35 years experience in a variety of projects and media
throughout the western United States. He was educated formally in
landscape architecture and trained in a variety of artistic arenas.
For 20 years prior to the formation of the company, IDEA, he held
responsible positions with design firms throughout Phoenix and
Southern California and was a founding partner in a major southwest
landscape architecture firm. Brant is responsible for all aspects of
IDEA’s projects, utilizing his award-winning experience in project
themeing and story rendition through landscape architecture, urban
design, architecture, public art and graphic design.
Artist statement:
Despite
the continuous change in his artistic style, one common thread
unites each project he undertakes. No matter how small or large the
piece, it must not only “fit” into its environment, but also abide
by the rules of simplicity, wherein each element serves a specific
purpose. Be it sculpture, painting, reprographic or photographic
art, or a piece of furniture, no line therein exists in vain.
Moreover, the piece must contribute to the environment in which it
lives, both by borrowing elements from its surroundings to create
cohesion and by reflecting a component of the “story” of the space
to synthesize its purpose with its environs. His palette, therefore,
exists only of those materials that are appropriate to the
surrounding environment, and is, thus, ever changing. “The art is
the place and the place is the art,” he said. |
