“Riversong Anthology”
By Harriet Bart

The public art is composed of nine different elements and is located at the entrance to the Fort Dodge Public Library. This public art was commissioned by the Catherine Vincent Charitable Foundation for the Fort Dodge Public Library.

The 9 Elements of “Riversong Anthology”:

Located on the front of the south column.

Brass Talisman- The Talisman is a good luck piece that represents the brass ring of success.

The following four items are grouped together in the south corner of library entrance.

Book Column–Represents knowledge and culture.

Bronze Owl–The book column is topped with this bronze owl, an ancient symbol of wisdom.

Soapbox–Represents free speech and the communication of ideas.

Speaker’s Staff–Is a scythe handle that represents the agricultural history of Fort Dodge.

The next two elements of are text cast in bronze and mounted on the walls to create a Visual Poem. 

riverrunprairieseafrontierskywindsong – Based on the words and concepts used by the citizens of Fort Dodge to describe the natural attributes of Webster County.

remember-placed on the backside of a pillar so that people see it as they exit the building.

The final two elements mark the entrance of the library as a special place.

Carved Glass-Surrounds the door and depicts the path of the Des Moines River through Webster County

Gold Leaved Brick-Golden brow marks the entrance of the library as the entryway into a world of knowledge and possibilities.

Artist Information:

Harriet Bart – Harriet Bart Studios, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Website: harrietbart.com

The Minneapolis based Bart draws inspiration from her steadfast engagement with books and the written word.

These elements are central to her gallery-sized installations as well as to her smaller sculptures and artists books. Harriet Bart creates evocative content through the narrative power of objects, the theater of installation, and the intimacy of artists books.   She has a deep and abiding interest in the personal and cultural expression of memory; it is at the core of her work. Using bronze and stone, wood and paper, books and words, everyday and found objects, Bart’s work signifies a site, marks an event, and draws attention to imprints of the past as they live in the present.

Bart’s work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States and Germany, and she has completed more than a dozen public art commissions in the United States, Japan, and Israel.  She has been the recipient of fellowships from the Bush Foundation, McKnight Foundation, MacDowell Colony, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, NEA Arts Midwest, and the Minnesota State Arts Board. Since 2000, Bart has published numerous fine-pressbooks and mixed media bookworks. She has won two Minnesota Book Awards. Her work is included in many museum, university, and private collections, including Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art,Library of Congress, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Weisman Art Museum, Jewish Museum, National Museum of Women in the Arts, and Sackner Archive of Visual and Concrete Poetry. She is a guest lecturer, curator, and founding member of the Traffic Zone Center for Visual Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota.