Every work of art is filled with symbolic meanings.
What they decided on was a 22-foot aluminum and stainless steel sculpture that is very personal to the artists. Oldenburg is never found without a notebook, usually tucked in a shirt pocket and filled with sketches and jottings scribbled by both Oldenburg and van Bruggen. Each piece has handwritten notes that reflect the artists' impressions of Lincoln and its environment encountered on numerous visits to the area. The spiral binding represents a tornado in its ominous dance across the plains. The tear on the pages is an outline of the Platte River.