Client: The City of Oklahoma City
Location: Oklahoma City, OK, United States
Completion date: 2015
Artwork budget: $207,500
Project Team
Artist
Gordon Huether
Client
Robbie Kienzle
Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs | Oklahoma City Planning Department
Overview
The $207,500 public art project is funded through Oklahoma City’s 1% for Art Ordinance. The installation is made of aluminum and dichroic glass, is set on a round 18-foot diameter concrete pedestal-like foundation, and is approximately 12 foot tall, measured from the base of the pedestal.
Goals
The City of Oklahoma City commissioned Napa artist Gordon Huether to create an integrated public art sculpture for the new Police Headquarters in downtown Oklahoma City. The installation has been seamlessly integrated with the existing memorial monuments, which are the focal point of this new installation. The installation is integrated into the hardscape and is intended as a gathering place to commemorate fallen officers and their families, friends and colleagues.
Process
Huether designed the Memorial Plaza in a logical and practical manner in order to support the annual memorial event held at the Police Headquarters, as well as the day-to-day use and enjoyment of the space by officers and citizens throughout the rest of the year.
Additional Information
The sense of occasion and meaning that is at the heart of the annual memorial event - the procession of bagpipers, the Honor Guard's raising of the flag, the placement of flowers by surviving family members, the rider-less horse, the helicopter fly over and the 21 gun salute are meant to be fully reinforced by the beauty, serenity and order of the Memorial artwork and Plaza design. Huether's design supports the passage of people through the site as well as provides space and seating for viewers and mourners.