Our proposal is for our monument to be representational of the history of the West Bottoms. Currently our thoughts are focused on representing the West Bottoms involvement with the creation of the Landing Craft Tanks during World War II. We’ve been working with the idea of creating some form of a clock or pretty close representation of a Landing Craft Tank, while keeping art at the forefront through use of nonstandard statue materials and a representational, not literal form.
West Bottoms History.
West Bottoms is an industrial area. This area is located west of downtown Kansas City, basically at the union of the Missouri and Kansas River. It is also the oldest area of Kansas City. The area itself is prone to floods, including the Great Flood of 1951 + 1993. During World War II, Darby Steel Corporation built most of the Landing Craft tanks in the West Bottoms. This corporation/plant would build about one craft per day and then would float them down the River, which equated to about 1000 miles.
Possible Ideas to be executed.
The tank can be literal, recreational and abstract. It can be built near the river, below the flood line or somewhere in the industrial area. Materials are currently unknown, maybe metals, or other hard materials. We’ve been playing with the idea of adding an iPhone app. This app would be a teaching tool for history, provide an interaction, provide a narrative and/or provide an attraction/tourist app. Or maybe we could do an arc, without the biblical direct connection, says Assistant Professor Michael E. Kidwell.
pinterest board can be found here.
it looks currently this.
*Assistant Professor Michael E. Kidwell approved.
No comments:
Post a Comment