Ashland, Ore. — There’s a new piece of artwork in downtown Ashland.
Artists from Washington and Utah collaborated to design and create a large metal sculpture. It was placed in the median on the intersection of East Main Street and Lithia Way on Wednesday morning.
Kevin Maag from Metal Arts Foundry out of Lehi, Utah helped to construct the abstract sculpture and install it in its new home. He said locals were not shy to express their opinions on the piece.
“Overall, a massive thumbs up,” Maag said. “[They] love the shape, the color, the form. They enjoy it when they walk by, yelling out of their car windows, thumbs up. And I’ve had a few that have not been so happy about it.”
Maag said far more people said they liked the sculpture, but the negative responses don’t bother him.
“Even if it’s a negative emotion, I think the artist has brought an emotion to the surface of somebody,” he said. “The ones that I find not so engaging are those that people walk by and don’t even notice, don’t even see. I find those quite disappointing.”
Maag said the City of Ashland has been a pleasure to work with and he is proud to have something he helped create stand proudly in Southern Oregon.
The artist says the sculpture is meant to represent movement and fluidity.
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