Public Art
Shepard Building
Providence, RI
Shepard Building
Providence, RI
Designed and sculpted by William C. Culbertson, the Shepard Columns were created to visually depict the history of the Shepard Stores in Providence, Rhode Island. Commissioned by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, five columns were created, each depicting a twenty year time period from 1880 to 1973.
Advertisements from local news papers were incorporated into the design of the columns through the use of low relief modeling. The columns are internally lit with various colored neon lights that turn on and off randomly by a computer. Light shines through the cracks in the columns. The units were modeled in clay, moldes and cast in fiberglass. Each piece was then hand painted.Over three thousand individual parts went into the fabrication over a two year time period to create the sculptures.
Scroll over the images below for links to more images.
Advertisements from local news papers were incorporated into the design of the columns through the use of low relief modeling. The columns are internally lit with various colored neon lights that turn on and off randomly by a computer. Light shines through the cracks in the columns. The units were modeled in clay, moldes and cast in fiberglass. Each piece was then hand painted.Over three thousand individual parts went into the fabrication over a two year time period to create the sculptures.
Scroll over the images below for links to more images.
