Artist Doug Sargent has installed a new sculpture across the street from The Mansion on Delaware Avenue. Per usual, Doug has constructed the sculpture using recycled and found materials.
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We've observed Doug working on public art projects in Allentown, and he also showcases his smaller works at Urban Roots on the city's West Side. This appears to be one of the largest of Doug's public works to date - the sculpture is mounted atop a large cylindrical cement foundation, right next to a parking lot that appears to have designation as a helicopter landing pad.
The sculpture seen here looks to have been constructed with machine parts, rebar, springs, barrel hoops and other discarded elements that have come together to create a towering industrial flowering plant of some sort. These types of artistic installations are important to have throughout the city, as they bring a humanistic element to neighborhoods. They tell stories and remind visitors that there is a vibrant art community. "The Mansion has numerous pieces of mine inside also," Doug Sargent told me. "I wanted to build a work appropriate for the site and was focused on a piece that could act as a "Watchman" over The Mansion (hence the name). Most of the piece is made from ancient steel from of the late 1800's to early 1900's and of course my always ongoing attempt at making something beautiful out of something discarded."
I can think of hundreds of deserving locations throughout the city that could use a public work of art. Thanks to The Mansion for adding this sculpture to its landscape. Its graceful, understated beauty mimics the trees on Delaware, as if purposefully blending in with the fall foliage.
like it!