Massive Swan Speaks a Message

Tom  |

The back corners of this town hold all sorts of cool finds. I was on a bike ride the other day and came across this interesting sight, a massive sculpture of a tundra swan made from junk removed from the Mississippi River in 2003. Set alongside some of the still vacant buildings on the southeast corner of Banbury Place, the sculpture, by local artist Stephen Bateman, is accompanied by a sign explaining the origins and purpose of the piece – to create awareness of river cleanups across the Midwest. I’ve also seen it around town in temporary locations, like at the Open Air Festival of the Arts in Phoenix Park, but it looks like at least for now it’s found a more permanent home, overlooking downtown’s Eau Claire River. Finding stuff like this makes for a great bike ride.