Millennium Plaza Fountain

Forged & fabricated bronze, 16' x 12' x 8' 9" diameter

The sculpture serves as a landmark between the historic Montgomery County Court House and a modern court building. In 1998, a Force 4 tornado destroyed almost all of downtown Clarksville. The old Court House was severely damaged and saved only because of its historic significance. My design was chosen in an international competition as part of the effort to rebuild the city. I like swirling forms, but I was careful not to create a work that referenced the natural disaster (as competing artists apparently did). I live in a small town that was devastated by a tornado in 1925. I knew from stories told to me by elderly neighbors in the 1980s that they didn’t want to dwell on that terrible day the rest of their lives. I assumed the same would be true for Clarksville. I intended my design to be an elegant, impactful, and contemporary expression of the vibrant city they were rebuilding, rather than a monument to destruction.  

Courthouse Square, Clarksville, Tennessee. Commissioned by Montgomery County, Tennessee (International competition, 2002)