If you've ever visited City Arts Factory (if you haven't stop what you're doing and go there right now!) you've probably seen the breathtaking works of JEFRË who has a studio there. You may also know him from his inventive pieces that have become a staple of the local arts community popping everywhere from DRIP to Lake Eola during Earth Day.
He recently finished another amazing installation, this one though is in San Antonio, Texas. The installation forms what is known as Unity Plaza, a space that represents the historic uniting of the two oldest public safety departments in Texas, San Antonio Police Department and San Antonio Fire Department.
The plaza is broken into three major sections that together bring honor, respect and enduring appreciation to the community and the public service men and women who “protect the grid” every day.
The first of three main plaza components is an 18,000 square foot mosaic map of San Antonio, created using GPS coordinates to build a scale map using natural stones that cover the plaza’s walkways, seating walls and planting beds. The map delineates the city down to the San Antonio River, as well as major roadways and interstates. After dark, built-in lighting strips illuminate the network of interstate highways and light the plaza map, creating remarkable views from above.
“After visiting numerous police and fire stations it was quite evident that the map of city was a common image seen on the walls and computer screens,” said the artist, “it was immediately clear that they were the protectors of the grid that became the genesis of the entire design.”
The second element in the plaza, the beacon tower, reaches almost 60 feet at its highest point. The all-white tower consists of eleven steel beams that extend upward from the ground map and become united at their apex as a metaphorical beacon of light into the sky. The only permanent light sculpture in the U.S., the beam of light will extend two miles high. The tower’s spotlights can be programmed from all white to red or blue, which depending on the program, may be used to honor San Antonio’s police officers and firefighters during special observances. This new landmark is intended to serve as an important gateway for downtown’s southwest extension and delineates the axis point of the Public Safety Headquarters and new Federal Courthouse site.
The third component, two 16’ tall sculptures that depict a police officer and a firefighter using cast shadows and sunlight, are located at the northern landscaped edge of the plaza near Nueva.
With a new Police Station in the talks here in Orlando, moving the headquarters further into Parramore onto a Lynx owned block near OBT and 408, let's hope that we too will be getting such an inviting public square as a part of it.
Images via Francis Trachta
