Lakewood Public Library Foundation Unveils New Sculpture

After , artist Peter Diepenbrock has finally unveiled his new sculpture, sixteen feet of textured bronze and stainless steel, on the northwest lawn of Lakewood Public Library.

He calls it Transversion. The piece was commissioned by the Lakewood Public Library Foundation without a single tax dollar and has become an instant Lakewood landmark.

Hailing from the Rhode Island School of Design, Diepenbrock is a sculptor and industrial designer with twenty-five years of experience turning personal visions into concrete realities. His passion for lifelong learning and his reputation for designing sculptures that unlock the potential of their environment put him over the top with the Foundation’s Art Selection Committee.

He has designed everything from large, outdoor works that redefine their surroundings to delicate ornaments for the White House Christmas tree. Visit www.peterdiepenbrock.com for an overview of his accomplishments.

Tranversion (in case you’re wondering) is a term that the artist borrowed from the science of genetics. Whereas a transition mutation is a relatively straightforward affair, a transversion throws open the doors of possibility—utterly unpredictable and often furiously beautiful.

It’s hard to imagine a better name for this still and solid hunk of metal that gives the illusion of constant motion. Framed against the façade of the old Library, Transversion brings teeming new life and texture to a formerly anonymous stack of bricks. It can be defined by one color, yet it contains all colors.

It twists. It turns. It splashes about.

The remarkable thing about Diepenbrock's design is its inexhaustible beauty and the endless number of ways it can be viewed and experienced. Far from being some dry intellectual exercise, this is art that a child can marvel at. And as that child grows into adulthood and even old age, they will always be able to find refreshing new perspectives.

It will be an old friend and a font of new ideas.

Before being chosen, Diepenbrock visited the Library earlier this year and met with members of the Art Selection Committee and Director James Crawford to get a feel for the project. Long after their meeting was over, Crawford was pleased to find the artist hours later still studying the site and, more importantly, the Library and the community around it.

In his application to the Committee, Diepenbrock said, “With a strong basis in design, I approach all sites with a fresh eye, and intentionally avoid preconceived solutions. I look at pedestrian vantage points, and movements, architectural and landscape features and look for the opportunities inherent in a site.”

On that cold, drizzly Sunday afternoon, Diepenbrock was stunned to learn that the Library was open on a weekend. Before his meeting began, he took the time to stroll through the crowds. So much activity! The people buzzing around him were carrying armloads of books, racing for the computers, heading downstairs for a concert, chatting with neighbors, enjoying their time. There were children making crafts, hipsters hunting through movies and CDs and people of all stripes simply reading.

Diepenbrock already wanted the job. He'd always liked public libraries. But his experience that day cemented his admiration and deepened his resolve. Despite the weather, he studied the future site for hours.

He walked and drove around it and made sure that he saw it—really saw it—from all angles. He was determined to come up with something really special... He succeeded.

Special thanks goes the Lakewood Public Library Foundation's Art Selection Committee. Two hundred and two talented artists from across the country applied for the commission and the hardworking members of the committee read every letter and examined thousands of photographs. They volunteered their time at long, long meetings where they debated the merits of each applicant and discussed the purpose of public art.

There were many viewpoints, but no heated exchanges. Instead, their diverse experiences became their strength as they considered the architecture, the land, the Library as an institution, Lakewood as a community, the controversies of art, the relationship between truth and beauty and the practical matter of getting the thing in the ground before winter. Thank you, Mary Anne Crampton, Dan Cuffaro, Tiffany Graham, Marcia Hall, Nancy Seibert, Lucy Sinagra and Ruth Weible.

No taxpayer dollars were used for this project. All funding was raised through private donations by the Lakewood Public Library Foundation. To learn more about this worthy group, visit www.lakewoodpubliclibrary.org/foundation

To learn more about the artists behind the public art at Lakewood Public Library, visit www.lakewoodpubliclibrary.org/art.

Ben Burdick contributed to this blog post.