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 four pieces by Erik ‘Ole’ Nelson which have been placed in the Bozeman Sculpture Park. Two of his others, of similar design and material, have won People's Choice Awards,
Fish Face in 2010 and
Day Dreamer in 2015.
The Guardian, Addition Two consists of a multitude of square steel tubes of equal depth, shaped into intricate curves to create a totally abstract design which has the appearance of a large piece of scroll saw work. With an unfinished surface, several years in the weather have imparted the appearance of wood grain, further adding to its appeal.
Erik ‘Ole’ Nelson
Originally spawned in the mythical land of Madison, Wisconsin, Ole wasn’t always the media station mogul and metallurgic smelt muncher we now know him to to be. Yes, there was indeed a time when the wind trickled through the aspen trees from Montana to tickle the nose of a young man hundreds of miles away. Arriving at MSU and hungry to create, Ole began. Now the craftsman of many a downtown sign and people’s choice winning sculptor for ‘Fish Face’.
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