Iron Feathers - Will Rogers World Airport - Oklahoma City, OK
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Max and 99
N 35° 24.074 W 097° 35.720
14S E 627553 N 3918445
Four 70-foot Native American arrows located at OKC's Will Rogers World Airport
Waymark Code: WM8XW6
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 05/28/2010
Views: 22
Close access to this waymark is quite limited. Please be aware of airport security.
These four 70-foot arrows are located at Will Rogers Airport, greeting visitors to our great state. Because of their size, the towering sculpture is hard to miss when driving around the airport area. Two of the arrows are criss-crossed slightly at the top, and two of them are vertically parallel. They are all located within a 70 foot area on a grassy part of the airport grounds.
From the Smithsonian Art Inventory listing:
Inscription:
(On sign:) OKLAHOMA CITY unsigned
Description:
Four monumental Native-American arrows installed on the grounds of the airport, arranged to appear as though they had been shot there. Each arrow shaft is topped with feathers. Below the feathers are colored bands of red, yellow, black or white; each arrow has a different color. The colors represent the four seasons and the four cardinal directions; likewise, the four arrows represent the sacredness of the number four to Native Americans. Additionally, the colored bands on the arrows are primary colors in Native-American culture. Pieces of steel with cut-out letters spelling "Oklahoma City" are lined up by the arrows.
Remarks:
Commissioned by the Oklahoma City Downtown Rotary Club 29, with the City of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City Beautiful, Greater Oklahoma City Tree Bank Foundation and Operation Facelift, a committee of Leadership Oklahoma City. The cost was $100,000, raised from a $25,000 seed money grant from the Rotary Club for whom this was originally a Christmas 1987 project. Lippert Brothers Construction Company installed the arrows and Dolese Company did the cement work. The arrows are set 15 feet into the ground in 4 foot diameter steel and concrete piers. The letters of the sign are individually lighted. IAS files contain related articles from the Oklahoma Gazette, March 9, 1990, Vision in Action, a newsletter of Oklahoma City Beautiful, April 1990 and the journal Interiors, July 1991. A press release from the Rotary Club and a copy of the dedication invitation list monetary and in-kind donors.
Text on plaque by sculpture:
Oklahoma City Entry Structure
"Iron Feathers"
A Rotary Club 29 Project
Dedicated April 13, 1990
Special thanks to
Oklahoma City Airport Trust
Elliott + Associates Architects
W & W Steel
Lippert Bros., Inc.
Allied Steel
Oklahoma City Beautiful
Allie Reynolds
Greater Oklahoma City Tree Bank Foundation
Operation Facelift
Merit Osborne Electric
Smith Lighting Center
O G & E
Powers Foundation Drilling
Sooner Concrete Pumping
Sam Mills, AIA
Mark Eualey Engineers
The Butterly Co., Ltd.
The Dolese Company
Oklahoma Historical Society
City of Oklahoma City
Robert Lewis & Associates
Topographic Engineering
A.R.K. Ramos Manufacturing
EBSCO Graphics
TITLE: Iron Feathers
ARTIST(S): Elliott, Rand, architect. Elliott & Associates Architects, architectural firm. W & W Steel Company, fabricator. Lippert Brothers Construction Company, contractor. Dolese Company, contractor.
DATE: 1990. Dedicated April 13, 1990
MEDIUM: Arrows: double steel pipe filled with concrete; Sign: 1/2 in. plate steel.
CONTROL NUMBER: IAS OK000278
Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link]
PHYSICAL LOCATION:
Will Rogers World Airport
DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH:
The database is missing the text on the plaque at the sculpture (I listed it in the long description).
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Visit Instructions:
Please give the date of your visit, your impressions of the sculpture, and at least ONE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH. Add any additional information you may have, particularly any personal observations about the condition of the sculpture.