New sculpture to be located in front of Swope

By Austin Arceo
The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE July 09, 2007 11:29 pm

— The Seventh Street Arts Corridor could be living up to its name just a little bit more by the end of the year.
Terre Haute’s Board of Public Works approved a place in front of the Sheldon Swope Art Museum downtown as the first sculpture’s location along the corridor. The proposed sculpture, a circular design made of stainless steel, aluminum and concrete, was selected from various proposals submitted for the space.
Art Spaces Inc.-Wabash Valley Outdoor Sculpture Collection, an organization that’s been working with the city on the arts corridor project, had issued a request for proposals for the sculpture.
The proposed artwork includes open space so that people can see through and around it.
“Whenever you’re doing public art, you have to consider how the public is going to interact with it and certainly be conscious of their safety,” said sculptor Bob Emser, who designed the work.
Terre Haute’s chief planner, Pat Martin, said during the board meeting Monday that the hope is to have the artwork installed by the end of the year, but added that “frankly, I don’t see that happening.”
Martin said that the sculpture was selected out of 45 proposals from 18 states, which eventually were limited to three finalists.
Emser typically works with circular objects, he said, and the root of his inspiration as an artist comes from building model airplanes when he was a child.
He also said that a goal for the work to be completed by the end of the year is “probably a timeline that will be easily met.”
Austin Arceo can be reached at (812) 231-4214 or austin.arceo@tribstar.com.