Blue bridge to be draped in color for ArtPrize

Liz Miller, an artist from Good Thunder, Minnesota, is currently working on an installation piece inspired by the Grand River for ArtPrize. It will be located on the Blue Bridge.

"I was very interested in using the river as a starting point to develop imagery," Miller says. "The work is comprised of forms that broadly reference imagery related to rivers. The open, curvilinear shapes reference steamboats, hydro-electric power, and native plants and animals—all abstracted into simple forms. I also wanted the forms in the work to play off the architecture of the bridge. The shapes I’ve created mimic some of the structural aspects of the bridge, but in a more organic fashion."

Since the piece is going to be installed outdoors, Miller has to use some durable materials.

"The primary material for the work is a UV resistant, water resistant nylon fabric," Miller says. "The material is often used in outdoor applications, including flags and tents. It is very lightweight, but also very tough. It can withstand wind, but will also respond to it, which is something I was really interested in. One of the qualities I really love about this particular fabric is its translucency, and the way it shimmers in the light. The work will really be quite different at varying times of day, and in varying weather situations."

Each section of the Blue Bridge will be different, representing different symbols and colors related to the Grand River or water in general, Miller says.

"As the viewer walks across the bridge, I want them to feel a subtle change from one section to the next—but for the experience also to be a unified one," Miller says. "I think of each section as a different stanza in the same poem."

Miller is not new to working large scale, she says, but this particular project gives her the opportunity to make something larger.

"The project represents what I do as an artist, but it also expands upon it," she says. "I am used to working on a very large scale, but this is the largest scale that I’ve worked at to-date, and is my first ambitious outdoor project. It’s been challenging on many levels, but also really energizing. The most exciting moment for me will be watching the public walk across the bridge once the work is up."

For last year's ArtPrize, Miller's piece, Imperious Decorum, was indoors and smaller. She says she is excited by the challenge of this project.

"With Hydro-Anthem I am able to consider light, wind, and other environmental factors,” she says, “and to create a work that is an even more immersive experience for viewers—they can not only look at and walk around the work—they can also walk through it."