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Staying in Palm Springs just became more eye-catching, thanks to an innovate public art installation spearheaded by the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission.
Visitors driving along Tahquitz Way from the Palm Springs International Airport to their boutique hotels are bound to enjoy “The Pillars of Palm Springs,” a vibrant installation along the traffic median featuring six free-standing sculptures.
Gary Armstrong, chair of the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission, says the installation serves as a rare visual gateway that welcomes visitors. “We wanted to say, ‘This is what our city represents,’” Armstrong said. “And virtually every person who comes to and leaves town drives along that road. My goal was to have art that made people say, ‘Yes, that is truly is Palm Springs.’”
The visually fabulous three-quarter mile exhibition begins at Palm Springs City Hall and runs past Sunrise Way. It’s delicious eye candy for visitors as they make their way to and from nearby boutique hotels like Sparrows Lodge, Coyote Inn, La Maison, and La Serena Villas, especially after dusk when lighting illuminates the work.
Pillar One: “Equality”
“Equality” by Scott Froschauer. Photo courtesy of Palm Springs Public Arts Commission
Artist Scott Froschauer designed the towering polychrome painted steel and neon sculpture representing the theme of equality. Armstrong said he wanted the first “Pillars” sculpture to rest in front of City Hall (at El Cielo Road and North Civic Drive) because the “idea is that the city is made up of its residents, and City Hall represents the people. It’s the perfect place to see ‘Equality.’”
Froschauer was informed by the original Rainbow Flag colors, designed by Gilbert Baker, which embraced the idea of inclusivity. This solar-powered structure features the word “Equality” up high, which is revealed in multi-colored neon. Armstrong says it delivers a “vibrant” message about the city for all visitors.
Pillar Two: “Community”
“Community” by MIDABI. Photo courtesy of Palm Springs Public Art Commission
This innovative, multi-directional work designed by artist MIDABI (Michael Daniel Birnberg) allows viewers to “see different signs with the word ‘Community,'” said Armstrong. “Every one of those signs represents a different neighborhood here — 52 signs for 52 neighborhoods of Palm Springs.”
Like the other pillars, “Community” (near North Sunrise Way) is eye-catching and photo ready. The painted plate steel and steel pole sculpture stretches 15 feet high by 5-and-a-half-feet wide. It plays into the power of text. “Early in my life I established a deep commitment to divergent acts in hopes of attaining uncommon insight into the nature of reality,” MIDABI said of the work. “I compose my findings into an artistic practice as a means of sharing information: philosophical public intervention.”
Pillar Three: “Civility”
“Civility” by Cate Jessup and Celeste Cooning. Photo courtesy of Palm Springs Public Arts Commission
“Civility,” created by Cate Jessup and Celeste Cooning, is wonderfully sleek. Standing regally near the Farrell Drive intersection, it is mounted on several concrete plinths. The white steel artwork features a stencil-cut leaf design with the word “Civility” on its two prominent sides. From a passing driver or pedestrian, those letters appear to be moving.
The artists, who were inspired by the stunning architecture of Palm Springs’ historic buildings and neighborhoods, intentionally designed for a 360-degree perspective. In their words, they sought to showcase the “importance of celebrating courtesy and respect as a public practice.”
Pillar Four: “Diversity”
“Diversity” by Bernard Stanley Hoyes. Photo courtesy of Palm Springs Public Arts Commission
Near North Sunset Way, “Diversity” by artist Bernard Stanley Hoyes brings the street to life. The colored glass and polished stainless sculpture sits on a tapered ceramic mosaic-faced plinth, and it’s a fascinating creation in that it moves with the desert wind. Drive by or pause when walking past and you will notice that the abstract double helix design rises high to reveal two stylized birds in flight. The word “Diversity” rests at the base in bold ceramic mosaic. It’s a striking creative message.
Pillar Five: “Serenity”
“Serenity” by Anne Faith Nicholls. Photo courtesy of Palm Springs Public Arts Commission
Artist Anne Faith Nicholls’ “Serenity” is a remarkable one ton sculpture at the median between Farrell Drive and Sunrise Way. Textured and bathed in white, the word “Serenity” is carved into the lower base of the wave-like structure. The 3D, 360-degree gem uses the idea of water to evoke a theme of serenity. To the passing driver or pedestrian, these water design elements surely appear to be moving. Interestingly, the colors shift with evening lighting.
“‘Serenity’ celebrates our region’s history of being an oasis in the desert, honoring the waters that brought our first desert inhabitants,” Nicholls said of the work, a sharp reminder for all of us to conserve and respect the area’s natural resources.
Pillar Six: “Cadillactus” (“Creativity”)
“Creativity” by Roger Reutimann. Photo courtesy of Palm Springs Public Arts Commission
Of the final pillar, located at the western end of the entire installation at North Luring Drive, Armstrong said he wanted to end on the theme of creativity. Think: 1959 Cadillac. That’s the inspiration behind artist Roger Reutimann’s work, which so wonderfully blends mid-century design with “sleek desert car culture.” With its vintage Cadillac taillights, its intention is to prompt a new way of looking at one’s life. The piece won an international design award upon the artist’s submission.
“We wanted to place ‘Creativity’ in that location because when people leave their hotels, the first thing they’d see was ‘Creativity,’” Armstrong said. “And once you’ve been in Palm Springs, once you’ve seen the architecture, the mountains, and natural and man-made parts of the city…every person I know is inspired to do something creative. I personally think of Palm Springs as a cultural incubator.”
Artistic ripple effects
Art is everywhere in Palm Springs, including at the Palm Springs Art Museum. Photo courtesy of the Palm Springs Art Museum
These striking pillars have been wonderfully well received. “We were pleased that of the six pieces, four of the artists are from the Greater Palm Springs area,” Armstrong said. Collectively, the work forms a kind of visual tapestry that reinforces what he sees as an overarching pillar of Palm Springs: identity.
“If you’re trying to say, ‘What does Palm Springs represent, what’s their identity?’ Our identity is equality, community, civility, diversity, serenity, and creativity,” he said. “That is truly what we represent.”
Learn more about the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission and its projects here.
