Bronze piano set to adorn Shenkman Arts Centre plaza

The piece will rest in the 1,300-square-metre plaza facing Centrum Boulevard, which is the heart of the new Orléans Town Centre.

Lasserre’s sculpture consists of an upright piano made from hammered bronze and stainless steel accompanied by a partially-carved piano stool in a limestone boulder. Both the piano and the boulder will rest on a concrete pad in the shape of a stage.

According to the artist, the stage will encourage patrons to “participate in the work as a site of material meditation, or as a permanent prop in an outdoor performance.”

In an earlier interview Lasserre noted that the stool carved into the rock allows people to take a seat at the instrument as if participating in a performance. “(It’s) inviting in some way,” he explained. “It’s not building jewellery.”

A bronze and stainless steel reproduction of the original boulder will also rest on the plaza surface just off to the side. “This sculpture is going to be a central feature of what I know is going to become a gathering place in Orléans,” said Coun. Bob Monette in a press release.

The two-stage competition for a public art installation at the Shenkman Arts Centre Plaza included such selection criteria as artistic excellence, experience, site integration, reflection of the community and sustainability.

The Orléans community was given a preview of the submissions from the finalists including Karl Ciesluk, Maskull Lasserre, Jennifer Macklem, and Jean-Yves Vigneau. The public was asked to record comments about the four artists’ proposals. The art selection committee took these comments into consideration when selecting the winner.