1/5/08 - A new Allen landmark may
be pointing the way to the future, if artist Brad Goldberg has
anything to say about it.
The
Dallas-based and internationally recognized artist has created his
Cisternae – a mesh of art, nature and engineering that does more
than provide aesthetics.
"Its art, cool to look at,
interesting to look at and something sustainable," he said.
"Green energy is going on here."
The 30-foot Cisternae at Montgomery
Farm in Allen was completed recently with the placement of a
95-foot windmill on top of the stone sculpture, located at West
Bethany and South Alma drives.
The project began after the city of
Allen used eminent domain to run Bethany through the middle of the
property. The family that owns the farm on the land couldn't stop
the road, but they didn't sit idly by.
"The family stepped forward
and said a straight shot through wouldn't do," Mr. Goldberg
said. "They said, 'Give us the money you would spend and let
us run with it.'
"We redesigned the road using
artists, landscape designers and engineers, adding curves, dips
and wide medians with native plants," Mr. Goldberg said.
"The road got finished, opened and was a big success."
The family is ecologically minded
and believes in the power of art, wanting drivers to know they
were entering Montgomery Farm but without a garish or commonplace
sign.
According to Amy Monier, whose
family owns Montgomery Farm, they didn't know exactly what they
wanted, just what they didn't want.
"Someone told me they name
developments after what they destroy," she said. "We
didn't want any part of that. Brad's piece was to make a statement
about what Montgomery Farm is all about without spelling it out.
Everything was totally Brad's choice. We gave them the site and
said, 'Create.' "
After studying the terrain, Mr.
Goldberg set out to do just that.
At the termination of Bethany was a
piece of property where surface drainage was coming down toward
the road, turning into standing water, he said.
"I got an idea to create a
piece that addressed this problem and was powered by wind,"
he said. "I came up with the Cisternae. Basically it's a
water sculpture that does a lot of other things."
Those things include addressing a
runoff problem and flood control, as well as irrigation issues. It
collects surface drainage into two ponds, which will be planted
with water plants this spring to filter the water.
The Cisternae took more than a year
to complete and was created from almost 1,000 tons of limestone
quarried from the Lueders Basin. All the natural elements used in
the project came from within a 250-mile radius, he said.
Sculptures by Mr. Goldberg, who
also serves on Dallas' Trinity River project, can be found in
Scotland, Japan, France and Austria, as well as across the United
States. In addition to his Allen creation, his work is found in
Dallas at Pegasus Plaza, the Dallas Arboretum, and the lobby of
the Crescent, among other sites.
Ms. Monier said she and her family
were able to embrace progress while preserving nature.
"We've had nothing put
positive responses," she said. "People have been really
interested. We've taken big gambles. Bethany Road was much more
expensive than a regular road. The Cisternae is beautiful. We feel
like real design adds value."
The Cisternae is a signature of not
only Mr. Goldberg's style, but his lifestyle.
"I'm trying to do works that
are beautiful sculpture integrated in the architectural world, but
that generate power," he said. "I'm very thrilled with
this.
"In addition to the way I live
my life, I want to create art that shows the paradigm shift."
