Barrett’s ‘History in Shapes’ sculpture erected Wednesday

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

“History in Shapes” started out with a drawing a couple of years ago.

Charles City native Molly Barrett had tears in her eyes Wednesday as the sculpture she conceived, created, built and delivered was erected in her home town.

“I’m speechless,” she said. “Now, to look at this — how does that happen? It’s pretty cool.”

Barrett had a hand in all facets of her creation. She drove the 15-foot, 3,000-pound sculpture to Charles City from the Twin Cities in a U-Haul flatbed trailer, and even drilled some holes in the base Wednesday to secure her artwork.

“One person can do the entire process,” she said. “Anything is possible.”

The Charles City Public Art Committee of Community Revitalization helped to raise the $9,000 in funding to commission “History in Shapes,” which was erected near the Court Street end of the Main Street Bridge, next to the parking lot there and across the street from the Floyd County Courthouse.

“We’ve always been very supportive of the arts in Charles City, whether it’s musical art or visual art or whatever,” said Charles City Mayor Dean Andrews. “The fact that people were willing to come forth and donate to this shows what we are all about.”

A crane was used to lift the piece from the trailer and into place Wednesday. Charles City Community Development Director Mark Wicks said that Quade Construction provided the lift, did the concrete work and excavating. Jeff Otto at Otto’s Oasis also helped with the excavating. The project was completed with patron donations, and no tax dollars were used.

“The art committee did all the work on this,” said Wicks, who added that the Charles City Arts Center was also involved helping with the fundraising.

“We’re really getting a reputation as a community that supports the arts,” he said, noting that the city has public art sculptures throughout town, along the river, in Victory Park, in Central Park and elsewhere.

“We probably don’t do a good enough job telling our story for public art, but there is a lot of public artwork,” he said. “This is here for the community to enjoy. This was done by a Charles City native. It is based on a lot of her memories growing up in Charles City, and funded entirely by donations from Charles City citizens.”

Andrews said that he likes the location.

“It will really be visible, and I think at night time the street lights will really light it up nicely,” he said. “It’s just one more piece that adds to what Charles City is all about.”

Barrett is the daughter of Dan and Sarah Barrett, who moved to Charles City in 1973. A 1985 CCHS grad, she attended the University of Iowa and studied art. She has lived and worked in Boston and Los Angeles, then moved to Minnesota with her husband. She’s been in the Twin Cities for 20 years. She grew up across the street from longtime Charles City art teacher Art Strong, who she called “one of her biggest inspirations.”

“He was one of the big reasons I pushed along the path I have, because he is very supportive,” she said. “The entire community is very supportive, and a hometown girl coming back and putting up a big piece is exciting.”

Barrett said the sculpture was built to last.

“It’s going to outlast anybody I will ever know,” she said.

The top part of the piece is made from quarter-inch stainless steel. Barrett said she initially inquired to have professionals do the complex bends in the sculpture, but everyone she talked to told her they wouldn’t bend stainless steel that thick.

“Their machines wouldn’t do it, so I decided to do it myself,” she said.

The stone base is made from what is known as “McGregor Granite,” and Barrett said when she was growing up in Charles City, her family would go camping at Pikes Peak State Park near McGregor, “so I thought that was perfect.”

The steel base beneath the granite is Cor-Ten weathering steel, which Barrett said will eventually “turn a beautiful orange.” Cor-Ten is a steel alloy developed to eliminate the need for painting, and forms a stable rust-like appearance after exposure to weather.

Barrett has already started the rusting process, adding muriatic acid and water to accelerate the oxidation.

Barrett said she still has vivid images of her hometown in her mind, and she hopes “History in Shapes” captures those images for all to see, remember and celebrate.

“Enjoy. Have a good time looking at it,” she said.

Primary inspirations for the sculpture, which she tried to work into the abstract piece, are Barrett’s childhood memories of the art-deco Charles Theatre and the 1968 tornado. She said she also has vivid memories of Oliver/White Farm Equipment closing, the farm crisis in the 1970s and 1980s and the Charles City Comets.

She said she hoped that when the people of Charles City look at the sculpture, they can momentarily escape reality.

“When you see a dance or movie or play, or listen to music, reality is suspended for a moment,” she said. “If everyone could, when they saw a piece of art, or a tree, or a building — if they could suspend reality for a moment — and be in wonderment and be questioning and innocent, because it’s a new experience, wouldn’t it be a fantastic world?”