By Coleen Bornschlegel
Outside the Prescott Valley Civic Center sits Limitless by Michael Tierney - an immense painted steel sculpture that reaches into the sky and warmly invites passersby to experience its magnificent scale and vibrant colors.
The Art at the Center website speaks in more detail about the concept of scale. “With this piece, artist Michael Tierney seeks to explore monumental scale by drawing the viewer’s eyes skyward. With that upward motion, and the dynamic colors used in the piece, the viewer is uplifted and filled with a sense of hope.”
Limitless was created in 1989 and originally rested on the east side of Prescott Valley along SR 69. It was acquired by the town in 1999 and relocated to the Civic Center as the first sculpture in the Art at the Center collection. The collection is managed through the Arts & Culture Division of the Prescott Valley Parks and Recreation Department, and thanks to dedicated staff, committed volunteers and engaged citizens over the past 25 years, the collection has grown to include 40+ sculptures.
Another monumental procurement for the collection occurred in 2012 to celebrate the State of Arizona’s Centennial. The Not So Gentle Tamer, by sculptor Deb Gessner, is a 10-foot bronze pioneer woman with a shovel in one hand and a headless snake in the other. Securing and successfully installing this bronze piece was a huge undertaking for the town and all who were involved. The sculpture occupies a prominent position on the Civic Center campus along Lakeshore Drive and inspired a vision to continue installing multiple bronze sculptures from the intersection of Lakeshore Drive and Main St. in the west end of the campus to the intersection of Lakeshore Drive and Skoog Blvd. in the east.
That vision came to fruition in 2021 with a generous and timely donation from the Jenkins Trust. By the end of 2021, both ends of the re-named Skoog Blvd, named after former Prescott Valley Mayor Harvey Skoog, became the home for new sculptures as part of the collection along Lakeshore — the Jenkins Obelisk and Sharing the Land.
On the west end of Skoog Blvd and Lakeshore is the Jenkins Obelisk, presented in 2015 by Ed Reily, owner and founder of the Bronzesmith Foundry in Prescott Valley, but not completed for installation until 2021. The Jenkins Obelisk shares the history of the Prescott Valley area in four panels and is mounted upon a 10x10x3 ft concrete slab. The panel facing Skoog Blvd points to the sky. The modern design symbolizes the future; made of stainless steel and plexiglass, it lights up from dusk until dawn. Another panel celebrates the rich cultural history of the area's early inhabitants, the Yavapai, while another side describes the gold mining history and shows the first gold mine on Lynx Creek, the “Accidental Mine.” The final panel’s pastoral scene is dedicated to ranching and the railroad which brought supplies and cattle to market.
On the other end of Skoog Blvd, is Sharing the Land, a peaceful scene of two pronghorn and a javelina meeting near a stream with a flowering century plant looking over them. Sculptor Tom White stated, “Nothing changes throughout time – we always share the land and water with animals and with the people wherever we live. I wanted to portray that in this scene “Sharing the Land” by showing the camaraderie at a watering hole. The animals are not threatening each other but respecting each other for the sake of life!”
Coleen Bornschlegle will present a lecture on art of the Quad Cities, August 24, 2:00 p.m. at the Sharlot Hall Education Center Auditorium. For more information and registration, check the links on our online events calendar at sharlothallmuseum.org/event-calendar/
“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1 The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles and inquiries to dayspast@sharlothallmuseum.org Please contact SHM Research Center reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information or assistance with photo requests.