During the groundbreaking ceremony today for the renovated Greene Square in downtown Cedar Rapids, Linn County displayed a rendering of the public art sculpture it will gift to the City of Cedar Rapids.
The stainless steel sculpture, designed by sculpture artist Bruce Beasley of Oakland, Calif., specifically for Greene Square, was chosen by the Greene Square Public Art Selection Committee from among nearly 200 nationwide entries. The large sculpture will be approximately 20 feet high, 40 feet long, and 26 feet wide and will be named by the artist upon installation in mid- to late October. Located between the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art and the Cedar Rapids Public Library, the sculpture is designed as a symbolic bridge between these two important institutions.
“I am thrilled that the Greene Square Public Art Selection Committee chose Bruce Beasley as the artist for this important commission,” said Sean Ulmer, executive director of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art and chairman of the selection committee. “Beasley is an internationally renowned and respected artist who has demonstrated, through his fifty-year career, an understanding of the importance of public art that is well-integrated into its site and its community. His sensitivity to the site is a key factor in his proposal, and his final sculpture will serve as a bridge not only between the Cedar Rapids Public Library the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art but also the Paley and Kaneko sculptures in front of each. His expressive, buoyant, energetic sculpture will be another exciting aspect to a reimagined Greene Square.”
Beasley’s sculptures are exhibited worldwide, including in San Francisco, New York, Houston, Chicago, St. Louis, Boca Raton, as well as Germany, China, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
The contract with the sculptor is for $225,000 including material, fabrication and installation costs. The total budget for the art, installation, insurance and art selection process is $250,000. Linn County is funding the sculpture through its sale of the Mott Building, a circa 1900 building along the Cedar River near downtown Cedar Rapids. Linn County sold the Mott Building to Hobart Historic Restoration for $500,000. Hobart Historic Restoration will restore and redevelop the historic building.