This iconic public art piece for the City of Milford will serve as a gateway to the Iowa Great Lakes while telling a story of Milford’s origins as the home of several water driven mills.
The piece is designed to provide multiple viewing experiences including a large scale impact as people drive by on their way to the lakes, or more intimate experiences as people walk and bike to the site to stop, explore and sit within the art piece. The shapes, shadows and details will constantly shift, change and reveal themselves as you experience it from different viewpoints.
The piece also represents a place in time that will pay homage to the past, connect to the present and reach out to the future, including four time-capsules that will be opened every 25 years. The character and quality of the art experience will also shift throughout the year as the wheel structure casts different shadow patterns according to the seasons.
The design of the main shelter-like structure of the art piece was inspired by the water wheel from the sawmill that was built in 1869 that Milford would be named after. The art piece’s structure provides shade and a place to sit while also experiencing it from within. In addition, thru digital mapping and laser projectors, imagery of Okoboji water will be cast under the water wheel structure. This playful and interactive experience might have visitors contemplating whether to dip their toe into the projected lake.
We hope visitors driving by will be intrigued enough by the art experience that they will stop and enjoy some of the details that the park and public art piece will offer to both Milford residents and visitors.
