Taking flight
Large artwork selected for Scissortail Park
A 20-ton “orb” titled “Taking Flight” is set to be built 19 feet over the entry to Scissortail Park following a monthslong selection process for choosing a signature public art piece for the 70-acre urban gathering spot being built south of downtown.
Brooklyn-based artists Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang with StudioKCA were chosen by a selection committee that included former Mayor Mick Cornett, Councilwoman Meg Salyer, park designer Mary Margaret Jones, Scissortail Park Foundation Director Maureen Heffernan, and several civic leaders and city officials involved in planning for the park.
The art piece is set to be built and erected next year. The upper segment of the park between Interstate 40 and the Oklahoma City Boulevard is scheduled to
open next summer, while the sculpture unveiling will likely follow in September.
Robbie Kienzle, the city’s arts and culture program planner, said the orb, which will be held up 19 feet in the air with beams suggesting an orb in flight, will match the height of the bandstand stage and cafe being built on each side of the art piece along the northeast corner of the park.
A series of disc-shaped punch-outs from the surface of the orb are designed to allow light to shine through the structure. The artists, noting the state’s unique red dirt, are proposing a polyester powder coat finish that Kienzle said could prove to be durable between 10 and 25 years. The proposed design would require a once-ayear cleaning.
The project has been reviewed by members of the city’s arts commission, and they have suggested the city hire an outside conservator to evaluate the project for sustainability. Other concerns include water runoff and reflection.
“This is a highly reflective surface,” Kienzle said.
“They want to make sure the reflection does not compromise any surrounding building or nearby drivers.”