February 08, 2012
Editor’s Note: In June 2010, Omaha by Design and the Omaha Public Art Commission launched www.publicartomaha.org, which celebrates the important role public art plays in the civic life of the city. Below is the 16th in a series of installments on the art and artists featured on the site.
"Plant Life" by David Helm
Work – “Plant Life” (part of the Art 4 Omaha series)
Artist – David Helm
Owner – Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts
Completed – 2005
Medium – Steel
Dimensions – 15’ tall
Description – Curved metal erupts from a thick latticed base
Location – 10th Street entrance to the CenturyLink Center
Here’s one plant that doesn’t need watering.
The Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts created the Artist-in-Industry Steel Collaboration Project with Valmont Industries and Qwest Center Omaha (now the CenturyLink Center) to bring dynamic contemporary art directly to the public.
David Helm’s “Plant Life” is one of the results of that project. The piece took roughly five weeks to manufacture and involved hundreds of components.
Forty-one artists submitted proposals to the center’s national sculpture competition. The Artist-in-Industry Steel Collaboration Project was made possible by Valmont Industries, who donated resources, materials, studio workspace, access to machinery and fabrication assistance to the sculptors. Valmont’s Tyler Pearce and Randy Banghart enabled the artists to realize their sculptures six times larger than their proposed models, and their expertise enabled the resulting work to coordinate with the facility’s architecture and atmosphere.
For more information about the artist, visit http://www.unomaha.edu/fineart/art/faculty/helm.htm.
Send us your photo next to “Plant Life” or any other work featured on www.publicartomaha.org and we’ll publish it on www.omahabydesign.org. If you include this sign in your photo, we’ll send you a Public Art Omaha button or magnet (Midwest Photo Pro, Kayla Meyer and Sarah Tracey did). Email your photos to info@omahabydesign.org. Be sure to include the name or names of the people in the photo and the date it was taken. Questions? Call 402.554.4010.
If you’re interested in preserving or expanding Omaha’s public art for future generations, please consider donating a work of art or contributing to the Preserve Omaha Public Art Fund. For more information, visit http://www.publicartomaha.org/pages/get_involved/donate.