Janet Echelman has renowned public art installations all over the country and the world, but it’s clear she has a special place in her heart for Columbus.
Her latest work, “Current,” a 229-foot, red and blue aerial sculpture suspended over the intersection of North High and Gay streets, is already in place but will be officially unveiled at the Columbus Arts Festival.
It is the largest public art in Columbus, and one that civic and arts community leaders hope will help shape the city’s identity, something that has been hard to define.
Speaking at Wednesday’s Columbus Metropolitan Club Forum, “Art in the Air” at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center, Echelman told a full-house audience, “It is my great pleasure to let you know I love Columbus.”
When she first visited here five years ago, “I was blown away by the Columbus way. It is truly unique like I’ve not seen anywhere else,” she said. “Columbus is the first one to be able to pull off a work of art anchored to public buildings anywhere in the U.S. or the world.”
“It is about you and it is about this place,” she said.
“Current” is made of 78 miles of red and blue twine, the same material used by NASA to tether space vehicles. It has 500,000 knots and will be illuminated at night. The sculpture is permanent but will be removed in winter to prevent ice accumulation. It will be maintained by the Columbus Museum of Art as part of its permanent collection.
Echelman, who has installed aerial art in Dubai, London, Montreal, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and many other cities, said her inspiration for the Columbus piece came from arches on High Street that marked the early days of electrification, plus the flowing water of the nearby Scioto River.
Developer Jeff Edwards, who paid an undisclosed amount of the cost of the sculpture, told the forum audience, “It’s a spectacular piece” that can help Columbus shape its identity as a “great urban city.”
Edwards said he is planning to move his home to the Gay Street area, which he sees as the beating heart of a thriving entertainment, arts and residential neighborhood. There are about 16,000 people living Downtown now, that number could jump up to 40,000, he said.
Marshall Shorts, a Columbus artist, designer and entrepreneur who introduced the CMC panel, said he likes the work, but it will take more than a single piece of public art to cultivate the city’s image.
“The actual transformation takes place before the art is available for public display,” he said. Public art cannot simply be “window-dressing,” but must be backed by larger development efforts, Shorts added.
Tom Katzenmeyer, president and CEO of the Greater Columbus Arts Council, said discussion and planning are underway for other art projects around the city.
“We’re going to get it right. We’re going to take our time,” he said.
Echelman had a word for people concerned that the giant, floating sculpture might be a hazard for birds. “We have never had news of the death of a bird ever” with any of her aerial sculptures.
City leaders plus Columbus Museum of Art officials will formally unveil “Current” June 9 at 11 a.m. prior to the opening of the Columbus Arts Festival on the Downtown riverfront.
For more information on upcoming CMC forums and events, visit columbusmetroclub.org.