Watermelon Slices

July 28th, 2007 admin Posted in Fort Collins, Public Places |

Have you seen the giant Watermelon Slices out at Cottonwood Glen Park? The sculpture is part of Fort Collins Art in Public Places program. The two large steel pieces almost look lonely sitting by themselves at a distance from the playground. But you got to love their simplicity.

The artist is Christopher Weed and he is from Colorado Springs. This is his statement for the Watermelon Slices:

“After learning about the farming history of Fort Collins, Colorado, I was inspired to create an abstract sculpture that the modern mind can connect with the enduring past. It was important to me that this piece addresses the rich and diligent history of Fort Collins’ farming community while maintaining a light-hearted and uplifting sense of spirit. I was able to take a colossal part of farming history and create a timeless sculpture that the community can reflect upon and enjoy for years to come. The final result is a playful, creative, and thought-provoking sculpture. The choice to place the identical pieces at different angles from one another achieves a precarious balance, adding a sense of perpetual motion to the sculpture and provides a unique sighting of the piece from both entrances. Offering 360-degree viewing, the industrial steel rivets in place of the seeds and is inviting to touch. This creates a tactile relationship between object and viewer. It is important that the artist not fill in all the blanks, thus leaving something to the imagination. The piece I created reflects the spirit and nature of Fort Collins’ history and the strong community- young and old alike.”

If you want to see them for yourself and do not know where Cottonwood Glen Park is just take Overland Trail south until it dead ends into a parking lot. That is the park.

You can see more of Chris’s work at his web site www.chrisweed.com