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.
Phosphorous Bronze Pillar, an Abstract by sculptor Laird Hovland, is one of two sculptures by Laird Hovland which are part of the
Gallatin Art Crossing, the other one being
Icosahedronopus, stationed at City Hall.
While
Icosahedronopus was built up exclusively of welded steel triangles,
Phosphorous Bronze Pillar employs a combination of squares and triangles to create its geometric images. Each geometric piece is stacked atop the one below, but slightly smaller and turned a few degrees counterclockwise from the one below. Altogether, the effect is quite appealing, making for a very interesting sculpture. Comprised of 13 identical shapes (except for their size), the sculpture stands about 7 or 8 feet in height.
Other also seem to have taken a shine to
Phosphorous Bronze Pillar as it won the Gallatin Art Crossing's
2014 People's Choice Award.
Laird Hovland
“In creating my sculpture and two-dimensional works, I use the shapes of nature. Spirals, meanders, and branchings are the ways in which the world creates itself, and when I use these methods in my own work, I feel a greater sense of connectedness to that naturally occurring creativity.” – Laird Hovland
From Gallatin Art Crossing
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