Wednesday, November 24, 2010

On the sculpture trail: curved horns, flutings and spirals


This sheep head with beautifully curved horns, flutings and engravings belongs to a bronze sculpture located at the entrance of the McKinley Park School in Reno, Nevada. A floor panel informs:
Artist: Brad Rude
Sheep Name: Mountaintop
Sponsor: SBC Nevada Bell
Donated to: The City of Reno

As the spiral on the neck of the nude sheep indicates, this creation is more than a sculpture. Mountaintop's surface is enamel painted with abstract motifs as well as real ones such as a mountain lion head (I think it is) and a man in a boat. Brad Rude incorporates other animals (dogs, horses, cows, rhinos and lion), wildlife and nature in his sculptural fantasies and paintings.

Getting to the McKinley Arts & Culture Center
From I-80, take the Keystone exit, drive south on Keystone Avenue and go past its intersection with Fourth Street. You'll see the Center to your left, just before Keystone continues on over the Truckee River. Address: 925 Riverside Drive. The Center and its parking lots occupy a city block bounded by Riverside Drive, Vine Street, Jones Street and Keystone Avenue. The sculpture stands in the entrance/courtyard facing south towards the Truckee River.