Public Art in Public Spaces.m2p
Channel: Columbus Metropolitan Club
Date: 2011-12-20

Artist Brian Tolle Commissioned for Sculpture for Scioto Mile

On December 1, 2011 The Columbus Dispatch reported that Brian Tolle has been commissioned to create a sculpture for the Scioto Mile on the riverfront in downtown Columbus.  The proposed design - a hyperboloid structure - would be built to enable people to walk inside and it would reach up to six stories. 
Dispatch reader comments varied although most were in support of the concept of public art in general.  Some comments questioned how money could be spent on a sculpture during such difficult economic times while others praised the concept but criticized the proposed design.  Officially, the design is not complete, nor is the funding.    
New York artist, Brian Tolle, has been at the forefront of public art in America. From his Irish Hunger Memorial in New York City's Battery Park to a huge steel outline of a shopping bag outside the entrance to the Los Cerritos Center mall in California, his works make impact with humor, history and homage.  
Tolle will addressed the Columbus Metropolitan Club December 14, 2011 as part of The Harrison Smith Legacy in Civic Engagement.  He will speak about the impact that public art can make on the identity of a community.  Seattle and St. Louis are easily identified by their public art.