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Roger Kotoske's Untitled
Take Me There Maybe Later
  • Title

    A Life Cycle Story

  • Artist

    Maureen Hearty

  • Location

    Smiley Branch Library

  • Neighborhood

    Berkeley

  • Year

    2021

  • Artwork Type

    Public Sculpture

  • Material

    steel, aluminum

What People Are Saying

  • 10 people say Hidden Gem

  • 9 people say Photogenic

  • 6 people say Thought Provoking

  • 5 people say Family Friendly

  • 5 people say Interactive

  • 5 people say Love it

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A Life Cycle Story
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About This Piece

"A Life Cycle Story" is an interactive sculpture of steel screen panels located near the south-facing exterior of Denver’s Smiley Branch Library. The artist, Maureen Hearty, plasma cut by hand a six-part story of the dandelion’s life cycle from steel sheet metal. The panels contain cut-outs of dandelion imagery that reflect a playful storyline of dandelions and small birds. The six sculptural screens are linked together by aluminum pipes which act as an interactive sound component. "Dandelion Love," a short, illustrated story book, also created by Maureen Hearty, accompanies the sculpture as a place-making endeavor; connecting the community to the sculpture and the sculpture to Smiley Library and Berkeley Park. Visitors may borrow a hand mallet from the main library desk to “play” the sculpture and access the book at the front desk inside Smiley Library.

Artist's statement:
“'A Life Cycle Story' creates a moment of reflection on the beauty of common simplicity, a break from a world full of sadness and strain. Each illustration was framed into a panel to come together like a short, fold-out book, or Japanese screen. I chose the dandelion flower for its easily recognizable form; often under celebrated and under-appreciated, just like our libraries. And like our libraries, the dandelion can bring beauty, joy, mindfulness, and wellness to our communities. Each panel has a playful bird enjoying the dandelions' growing process, with two loving birds comforting each other in the final phase."