Prince George is welcoming another piece of public art.
Despite the wintery conditions, a new interactive art piece was installed in the Prince George Public Library’s Knowledge Garden today (Dec. 19).
“We are really excited to see it installed so people can enjoy it when the garden is open next spring,” says Amy Dhanjal, library spokesperson.
The Knowledge Garden is a public space located next to the Bob Harkins Branch and Prince George Civic Centre.
“I think public art is always exciting. It gets people talking and it’s a great way to activate spaces. This piece is really playful, so for the garden itself it’s going to be a great reason for people to come and visit and interact with the piece.”
The artwork itself was designed by Prince George-based artist Griffith Aaron Baker and is composed of four ravens formed from scrap steel and Victorian-style antique lamppost standing 12 feet tall.
“The four birds have been made out of different types of scrap steel, a lot of it from typewriter parts and printing machines and recovered from the various scrap yards around Prince George,” explains Baker, during the installation.
He says the crossbars of the lamppost, which the ravens are perched upon, actually spin via a steering wheel.
“The sculpture is interactive so people can come in and spin the top part of the sculpture so the birds slowly go around and around.”
That lamppost is also bolted to a concrete base which has one of Aesop’s Fables stamped into it and Baker says over a long period of time, the oxidation and rust from the birds will theoretically collect in the lettering so the staining will make the words more pronounced.
The installation features two other steel ravens — one situated on top of the Knowledge Garden’s wood pergola and the other cast in concrete and situated on the ground.
“When there’s not two feet of snow on the ground in this garden you’ll be able to see a bunch of stepping stones that have similar lettering cast into them and so that is where the lettering concept came from,” Baker explains about his inspiration for the piece.
“The ravens themselves are an interesting symbol in so many different cultures around the world,” he continues, also noting the strong relationship between ravens and the First Nations peoples of this area.
“As a symbol of something that can bring people together ... it’s a fitting analogy to our city which is very multicultural and has a lot of different people from different backgrounds sort of embraced being Canadian.”
Art installation was always a part of the Knowledge Garden’s original masterplan, as the landscape architect had identified five possible locations for public artworks.
The library had earmarked fundraising profits and donations for an interactive art piece for the Knowledge Garden, but had little knowledge or experience in how to commission public art.
Back in 2017, the library applied to a program called the Neighbourhood Time Exchange to address this gap and was matched with Calgary artists Eric Moschopedis and Mia Rushton for approximately three months who helped staff prepare a request for expressions of interest and qualifications.
With a project budget of $12,000, a selection committee chose Baker’s proposal of a 12-foot tall Victorian-style rotating antique street lamp complete with the ‘found material’ ravens.
The library says the piece was chosen because it explored the themes of curiosity and playfulness, contributes to a welcoming public space, fits with other features in the Knowledge Garden, evokes classic stories and poems, and was created with attention to how it will age over time.
“We are really thankful to the donors because this project was funded by donors and library fundraising events, so we are really excited to see it installed here today,” adds Dhanjal.
