Urbandale To Buy Fish Sculpture

Urbandale is purchasing a new piece of public art to be placed this spring near the newly reconstructed trail bridge in

"We were thinking about the location because the bridge was new and we thought it would be a very neat addition to that area," said Janet Emmerson, chairwoman of the city's Public Art Committee.

Both Urbandale's Parks and Recreation Commission and the City Council approved the purchase of the sculpture "Across Currents" by Iowa City sculptor Bounnak Thammavong for $8,500.

Sculpter Who Loves Fish

Thammavong also is working on a trail of murals in Cedar Rapids, according to this YouTube video. 

Thammavong, an up-and-coming young sculptor, has gotten attention recently for the "River Horizon Archway" he created for the entrance to the Trout Run Trail near Decorah.

The trail is a 12-mile loop with three pieces of public art along it. 

Thammavong said he drew upon his love of trout fishing and the natural world for the archway, according to TroutRunTrail.com.

The piece to be purchased by Urbandale has a similar theme, according to the city's web site:

"The artwork is of two fish, one made of corten steel and one made of stainless steel. A third piece, located between the two fish, is a pedestal with a set of laser cut haiku poems engraved on it."

The art is "a metaphor for people of different background face to face at a poignant first meeting; a sea fish and a river fish. In between the two fish is a set of laser cut haiku poems that narrate the meeting to unveil the auspiciousness of the meeting of two worlds."

Choosing the Spot

The trail bridge at Walker Johnston Park is a critical juncture for trails that go north and west out of Urbandale, and those that lead into Des Moines. The bridge was out for more than a year after a tree fell and destroyed it during a storm in August of 2010.

The new bridge was opened in December.

Emmerson said the sculpture probably will have to be placed up on the hill to the west of the bridge, because the bridge is in a flood plain.

"The artist is going to do the actual installation," she said. 

The city's public art committee is charged with selecting public art for Urbandale, using a percentage of hotel-motel taxes set aside for that purpose by the City Council. 

Emmerson said the committee has established policies for selecting art for the city. She said the group gives preference to Iowa artists.