The City of Moncton is spending $181,366.95 on a public art piece for the plaza adjacent to the downtown events centre.
New Brunswick visual artist Peter Powning beat three others on the shortlist with his 22 foot tall stainless steel sculpture that says “Resurgo” and echoes the shape of a tree.
“Like a deep rooted tree, the City grows and thrives despite loss and change,” says Powning. “It is to this resiliency that I have created Resurgo, with it’s frieze of a many branched tree [it’s] an appropriate metaphor and powerful symbol for both the unity and complexity of the community.”
Powning says the tree and branches are meant “to work on several levels, as a metaphor for community, how a community is made up of many parts, but also as a symbol of growth and stability.”
Powning adds it’s not all about a serious theme like resiliency.
“I wanted the sculpture to have a sense of play, dancing letters in the process of reorganizing, it’s in a state of unlikely balance that gives it a feeling of movement,” says Powning. “I want it to work on many levels, and mean different things to different people.”
This is part of a City of Moncton policy called “Percent for Public Art”, which permits the city to spend 1% of their financial contribution to a construction project on public art, up to a maximum of $200,000.
At Moncton City Council Monday night, Councillors Paul Pellerin, and Shawn Crossman were the only two to vote against the decision to spend $181,366.95 on public art in the plaza.
Councillors Blair Lawrence, and Pierre Boudreau were absent for the vote.
Councillors Paulette Theriault, Charles Leger, Bryan Butler, Rob McKee, Susan Edgett, Greg Turner and Mayor Dawn Arnold all voted in favour.
