Title of Artwork: untitled
Artist: Brian Tolle Studio
Site: Parkdale Regional Pathway - end of 34 A St. NW
Concept:
Concept Rendering - Artist: Brian Tolle
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Click on the above image to see the full concept rendering.
In the artist's words...
Evidence of the Earth’s collective memory is everywhere, from the age rings of trees to fossils trapped in stone, from the strata of exposed mountain faces to canyons carved by rivers. Of the many physical marks of nature, among the most complex are the memories contained within the frozen waters of glaciers. Through an age long process involving the physical capture of minerals, gases, flora and fauna, glaciers stand as testament to the Earth's history and its constantly evolving landscape. Calgary, as a city built on the banks of the Bow River, is the recipient of this ancient flow of information, as glacial waters melt, make their way down from the Rocky Mountains and into the prairies. This ongoing relationship is a source of civic pride for Calgary, but more importantly is the very foundation of her continuing success and development.
I will create a landscape of memory at the Parkdale node along the banks of the Bow River that will explore the delicate balance between the natural and manmade environment while serving as a monument to the past, the present and the future of the area. The artwork will reference the source of the Bow River and its glacial origins, providing a visual link between Calgary and this shared history. It will also focus on the city's current relationship with glacial waters and the proactive approach adopted by the City of Calgary to work with nature in keeping harmful elements out of the City’s precious waterways.
Inspired by the spectacular geography and unique landscape of Mount Peechee, the artwork will consist of several inverted sections of the mountain. Mount Peechee is located southeast of Mount Girouard in the Bow River valley south of Lake Minnewanka, and with an impressive elevation of 2,935 m (9,629 ft), it is the third highest peak of the Fairholme Range in Banff National Park.
This visual inversion of the mountains as the physical origin of the river, speaks to the memory of this natural resource whilst simultaneously drawing attention to the relationship between the watershed and its inhabitants.
The Artist
With a Masters of Fine Art from Yale University, Brian Tolle has spent the last decade creating public art that emphasizes a formal and iconographic dialogue with history and context. The scope and scale of his past projects have required extensive multi-disciplinary collaborations, with one of his most ambitious projects being the Irish Hunger Memorial in New York's Battery Park City. His reoccurring themes of history, architecture, site and technology will allow him to embrace and reflect the vision for the Memorial Drive "Landscape of Memory" redevelopment project. www.briantollestudio.com
Artist Budget: $1.3M
Other Disciplines: Marc Boutin Architectural Collaborative Inc. (Architects) and Klohn Crippen Berger (Engineers)
Commissioning Unit: Department of Utilities and Environmental Protection
Estimated Completion: Construction is slated to begin Summer 2013 with completion estimated for Summer 2014.
