Lately, a metal sculpture that shows three green blades of grass was unveiled in front of the University of Maine at Farmington’s Education Center. The 24-foot-tall sculpture made of recycled lawnmower blades has been designed and fabricated by sculptor Christopher Fennell. Dubbed the Lawnmower Leaves, this sculpture took two months to complete, and Fennell used about 1,000 rusted lawn mower blades to assemble this metal masterpiece. The parts were taken from a national lawn and garden tractor company and were welded beautifully onto a steel arch.
Lawnmower Leaves is a great addition to the already most environmentally-friendly building on campus, which has its own geothermal heating system and uses recycled materials throughout.
UMF President Theodora Kalikow said...
Fennell’s proposal was selected because of his interest in designing something that related to the Education Center’s “green” character that stresses environmental sustainability, recycling and renewable energy.
The sculpture, approved by the Maine Arts Commission, was commissioned and funded under the state’s Percent for Art Act. Fennell said in a statement…
Sculpture is a visual language. Using recycled materials is not only a powerful image about our choices but also connects the audience to the artwork through their own personal experiences with those materials.
though I can appreciate art as much as the next person, I am just astounded at this difficult time in the economy, with people struggling to make ends meet and worried sick about the upcoming winter that noone is even batting an eyelash at the outrageous sum of money for this sculpture. That certainly would have put a lot of food on the shelves of the local foodbank, don’t you think?
