Bob Zasadny always dreamed of designing a public sculpture, and on June 22, he saw that dream come to life when Keep Evansville Beautiful, a nonprofit committed to beautifying the city, dedicated his artwork at Evansville Regional Airport.
The Oakland City, Indiana, resident submitted his idea to KEB in 2011 during the Evansville Airport Gateway project contest.
“When the final vote was taken by Keep Evansville Beautiful and the airport board members on March 24, 2014, it was both humbling and exhilarating to know they had faith and trust in a local artist to produce a dramatic, monumental symbol that would be recognized worldwide as representing Evansville, Indiana,” he says.
After Zasadny’s artwork was chosen, Evansville Living featured him in “Sculpture Takes Flight” in the July/August 2014 issue.
The bird-like sculpture, “Aerial Beauty,” which sits on the Welcome Monument wall at the entrance of the airport, is made from Styrofoam, fiberglass, and other materials, and features designs from Delta and American Eagle, two airlines at the airport.
The sculpture also represents the entire Tri-State with its design — one wing points to Illinois, the other points to Kentucky, and its nose aims toward Downtown.
He wanted to utilize local talent and credits everyone who contributed: Laci Tucker of Geared Media for maintaining his website; Weber Group, Inc. in Sellersburg, Indiana, which built the sculpture; Evansville-based Deig Brothers Construction, which made the concrete base; and Red Spot Paint & Varnish Co. in Evansville for providing the paint.
Eric Cope, assistant professor of theater at the University of Southern Indiana, helped with the lighting, which blends different colors together. It all led to the “wow” factor.
“Keep Evansville Beautiful is thrilled the airport sculpture ‘Aerial Beauty’ is completed,” says Julie Welch, executive director at Keep Evansville Beautiful. “We believe visitors coming to our city through this gateway will be awestruck by the sculpture and know they are entering a progressive, vibrant community.”
For more information about Bob Zasadny, visit bobzabstractsculpture.com.
