that is being created by
H-F art students. (Provided
photo)
Floating, gliding and slicing the air, Flossmoor’s newest public sculpture will attempt to capture the spirit of the high school students who are creating it.
Officially, it is named “Kinetic Vision.” When it’s completed and installed, the 3D artwork will be fluid and filled with so much movement that viewers can choose their own thoughts about what it means to the community, and themselves.
Homewood-Flossmoor High School students will construct the sculpture between now and the end of April, when it is likely to be installed in front of the Flossmoor Public Library. The village’s Public Art Commission is financing the sculpture as part of its ongoing partnership with the high school.
Village Board members Monday approved the sculpture, which will be installed at the library for a three-year period. The current student sculpture at the library, “The Bell Tower,” will be removed and put on display at the high school. Village board members also agreed to pay a $2,000 honorarium to the high school as a show of appreciation for the new artwork.
Very simply, the sculpture will consist of four arms of varying lengths on top of a base. The arms, on swivels, can be aligned but can also move in different directions. Art teacher Greg Petecki said the lowest of the four arms will be about seven feet off the ground. Student artists will use metal tubes to construct the sculpture.
Petecki said students in his 3D Studio Art class chose a kinetic sculpture signifying growth and change during the four years of high school.
“There was some discussion that each of the four pieces at the top would represent the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years in high school,” he said. “The pieces can come together but they also go off in their own directions. And they stay connected.”
As a kinetic sculpture, constantly changing patterns in the artwork will show a relationship taking place between time and space. Those changing patterns can also represent relationships that form within the high school community.
Petecki said the majority of the work will be done by the 11 3D Studio Art students during class time. H-F welding instructor Ben May will also help with the project, along with a couple of students from the welding program. Petecki said students will also take a field trip to an auto painting facility to complete the project.
Similar projects in the past have taken between five and eight weeks to complete, Petecki said.
Village board members praised the relationship between the high school and public arts commission.
“We’re very fortunate to have this partnership,” Mayor Paul Braun said. “We hope that it lasts for a very long time.”
Petecki said he’s proud that the high school offers so many art opportunities for students.
“You hear all the time about other schools cutting back on the arts,” he said. “But at H-F we are expanding our arts programs. We are offering even more opportunities in the arts for our students.”
