Client: City of Lancaster

Overview

Dancing Arches is a series of painted steel arches approximately 17' tall and 6' wide. The sculpture is derived from one of the most elegant and original arch arrangements to emerge from Lancaster, the eighteenth century Conestoga wagon. These early wagons transcended utility to become consummate works of craftsmanship. Their bent wooden hoops, rising and falling in a pulsing curve, provided not only the framework for the sheltering canopy above, but a frame for viewing the landscape beyond.

Goals

The sculpture, a series of varying arches, is a place to pass through or be within. Because of its irregular arrangement, the sculpture offers a unique view from every vantage point, its colors overlapping and combining. Seen from 3rd Street, the sculpture is a portal to the splashing pool beyond, while from within the park, a local business is framed. At night the sculpture’s colorful arches are illuminated from within, creating a softly glowing beacon. Dancing Arches celebrates Rodney Park’s renewed vitality and marks a journey from past to present. The sculpture marks a destination place, as the Cabbage Hill neighborhood does, for residents who have made journeys of their own.

Process

The sculpture's random appearance was complex to design and fabricate. Because each of the steel arches are a unique shape, angle, orientation, and color, particular care had to be taken in the sculpture's creation. Steel segments were formed by Chicago Metal Rolled Products and shipped to Lancaster where GSM Industrial joined, finished and coordinated site installation. The artist worked with the City of Lancaster in all aspects of the project including fundraising through crowd sourced funding.