Lake Bonneville was a prehistoric pluvial lake that covered much of North America’s Great Basin region. Several levels of the old shorelines are still visible above Salt Lake City, along the Wasatch Front. The appearance of the shorelines is that of a shelf or bench protruding from the mountainside, well above the valley floor. Christensen’s sculpture is integrated with the park landscape and highlights the rolling topography of the park. The poles range from 29 to 12 feet tall as they curve over the crest of the hill. They all terminate at the same height level creating an implied horizontal line reflecting the lake surface that once covered the entire valley that stretches below the Popperton Park.
Day Emil Christensen is a sculptor and mixed media artist. He has been commissioned for numerous public art works in Utah. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in Art and Design and a Master in Landscape Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design. In 2008, Christensen was awarded a grant from the Utah Arts Council as part of the Individual Artists Services Grants program. He currently resides in Highland, Utah.
Artwork featured in header: Through the Safety Lens by Alexander Tylevich