Iron Ore

Sculpture

-

Milwaukee Public Library

Name/Title

Iron Ore

Context

Six-ton Taconite boulder from the Mesabi Range in Minnesota with lithochrome inscription. The 10/25/1993 MS says that the "the most striking and poetic parts of Flanary's art piece, including the iron ore chunk, are outside the building," and that the "6-ton chunk of iron ore [...] recall[s] the community's early dependence on the Milwaukee Iron Co. rolling mill." The 6/5/1995 MJS says that "Peter Flanary's indoor and outdoor embellishments of the new Milwaukee Public Library branch imaginatively comment on the community's history and industrial heritage." The 2/17/1997 MJS says that "the 6-ton chunk of iron ore at the library site's southern edge" is "a nod to Bay View's industrial origins and a handsome piece of sculpture in its own right." Copies of the articles are available in the accession record at 1993.1.

Collection

Artwork Collection, Wisconsin Art Collection, City of Milwaukee/Milwaukee Arts Board Collection

Acquisition

Accession

1993.1

Source or Donor

Peter Flanary

Acquisition Method

Purchase

Source (if not Accessioned)

U.S. Steel

Made/Created

Artist

Peter Flanary

Date made

1993

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Signature

Location

Along sides and top of the sculpture.

Transcription

"IRON (ore) DERIVED FROM THE OLD ENGLISH IREN, AND THE EARLIER GERMANIC (with possible Celtic roots) ISARNO, MEANING THE STRONG OR HOLY METAL (possibly a reference to the heavenly origin of meteoric iron). SIMILAR ROOT WORDS SUCH AS IRE, HIEROGLYPH, ESTRUS, AND ANGER ARE DERIVED FROM THE PROTO INDO EUROPEAN EIS."

Dimensions

Height

70 in

Width

72 in

Length

29 in

Research Notes

Notes

Milwaukee Public Library Milwaukee Reader, Vol. 51, no. 9 (Oct. 1993)