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The intersection of 900 East and 900 South in Salt Lake City, home to coffee lovers, bicyclists and urban hipsters, has nine new permanent residents.
Workers on Thursday finished installing "Nine Muses," a series of kinetic sculptures inspired by muses from Greek mythology, on the intersection's four corners. The public art project, the crowning jewel of a recent Ninth and Ninth beautification effort, drew immediate raves.
"I think they're great," said Ryan Malone, manager of the Cahoots card and novelty store on the intersection's southwest corner. "They bring a lot of spice to the area."
"They did a beautiful job," said Lucia Pedersen of Moab, admiring the sculptural installation from her patio table outside the Coffee Garden next door. "It can stay here forever."
The stainless-steel sculptures, eight of which move with the wind, are mounted atop concrete pedestals sunk into planters. They were created by Seattle artist Troy Pillow, who was chosen by the Salt Lake City Art Design Board from 40 applicants nationwide. To focus the project, the city asked applicants to propose artworks reflecting the "muses" theme: Ninth South, Ninth East, Nine Muses - get it?
The two sculptures on the northwest corner represent Polyhymnia, muse of sacred oratory, and Euterpe, muse of music. The Euterpe piece is a blend of geometric right angles and moving "notes," not unlike sheet music.
On the southwest corner are Urania, muse of astronomy, a sculpture that suggests telescopes aimed at the sky, or maybe alien crop circles, and Melpomene, muse of tragedy, a lone fragile figure on a spiky, leafless tree.
The southeast corner is the only one with three sculptures: Terpsichore, muse of dance, represented by two curving lines that move in a pas de deux; Calliope, muse of poetry, which looks tall and graceful, and Clio, muse of history, suggested by a quill pen in an inkwell.
Finally, the northeast corner hosts Thalia, muse of comedy, a colorful sculpture with a playful, jester-like feel, and Erato, muse of erotic love, which sports sleek, undulating curves. All the sculptures are more abstract than literal, allowing viewers to find multiple meanings in each.
"Everyone sees what they see," says Pillow, a self-taught sculptor who worked to create a consistent look for the nine artworks. "I tried to leave a little level of mystery for everyone to decipher on their own."
Pillow attracted a lot of attention from curious passersby while installing "Nine Muses" Wednesday and Thursday. The sculptures aren't labeled, but the Salt Lake City Arts Council, which oversaw the project, will install plaques beside the sculptures that will explain the concepts behind each artwork.