The city of Bozeman is a college town, with a large School of Art, hence scads of resident artists. This lead to a sincere dedication to the arts by the City of Bozeman, resulting in dozens and dozens of works on display throughout the city. Certainly the largest gathering of art works is at the Bozeman Public Library, the majority of the works located in an art park behind (south of) the library,
Bozeman Sculpture Park.
This is one of two pieces by EJ Engler which have been placed in the Bozeman Sculpture Park, the other, entitled
Seeker, also being a rather tall piece bearing a vague similarity to
Imagination Transporter. Rather more architectural than artistic,
Imagination Transporter reveals the background of the sculptor, EJ Engler, an
architect, engineer, fabricator, furniture maker, construction carpenter, general contractor, installation artist and sculptor.
Standing on a pair of old steel farm implement wheels on one end and steel skids on the other,
Imagination Transporter is quite reminiscent of a small lookout tower high atop four sturdy wooden posts. Not having been blessed with the breadth of imagination of the sculptor, I doubt I will ever divine the reasoning behind the name,
Imagination Transporter.
EJ Engler
EJ Engler is an architect, engineer, fabricator, furniture maker, construction carpenter, general contractor, installation artist and sculptor. His business, termed Medicine Hat Inc., operates out of Gallatin Gateway, MT.
He has been involved in numerous architectural projects involving pre-fabricated homes, contemporary straw bail construction, and modern approaches to dwellings. A visit to his website reveals the industriousness and chops that have made him successful in this field. But I put him forward here as a BSP artist because of the work he has done with Dave Kirk at Aunt Dofe’s Hall of Recent Memory in Willow Creek, MT.
His thought process is that of an artist-poet with an eye to experience-based projects. Oh, and he can build anything his mind desires.
From Gallatin Art Crossing
Gallatin Art Crossing + Sculpture Park
Inside Art Crossing
Mission Statement:
To place public art that enhances the cultural experience for Bozeman area residents and visitors to the Gallatin Valley.
Vision:
The Gallatin Art Crossing (G.A.C.) exhibit hosts a variety of artwork introducing viewers to many artistic approaches. The main focus of the organization is to select and place sculptures throughout the Bozeman area. All sculptures, unless noted on their plaque, are available for purchase during their tenure in the program An additional goal of the program is to add at least one piece to our permanent public collection each year. The community assists in this process by voting for their favorite sculptures online which helps the board select the People’s Choice Award winner. The winning piece, along with two to three other pieces are then voted on by the G.A.C. board for possible purchase and permanent placement.
From Gallatin Art Crossing