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.

This public art project reinforces the significance of and accentures the vibrant residential/business corridor of 1300 South that joins the adjacent neighborhoods of Yalecrest and Westmoreland Place in Salt Lake City. Christensen took into consideration the architecture, character, and landscape elements of the neighborhoods and to that end, created a series of bas relief cast bronze benches, designed in the “Arts and Crafts” style, that reflect the beautiful trees lining the streets. Each bench backrest highlights a different tree type found in the neighborhoods – Sycamore, Ash, Elm, Maple – using leaves, branches, and seeds to create the designs for the cutout relief panels. The top rail of each backrest is inscribed with a quote referencing the qualities of the specific tree.

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.

Christensen and Sucec, accomplished in their own work and as a team, were challenged by the architect to address the large volume lobby of this addition to the Steiner Aquatic Center. They chose to use the qualities of glass and brilliant color, providing a distinctive and powerful character to the entry of this sports facility.

“Dennis Smith is as much a philosopher as he is an artist. His work is a window into who he is and his views on life. His impressionistic style captures his exuberance for life and embodies his passion for transcendence—expressed through the spontaneity of children, reflections of the past, and hopes for the future.

“At the core of Dennis’ work is the spirit of the human soul. We often see this represented through the innocence of childhood. To Dennis, the child is a metaphor for life. Children’s lives, as they explore the world around them, parallel our lives as adults as we discover our identity in this universe. Each piece by Dennis Smith captures this spirit, still vibrant and alive, frozen in the moment of discovery.”

Courtesy of artist’s website.

This artwork is in the garden representing Russia in the International Peace Gardens.

The garden was dedicated in September 1987. In October the garden was visited by Russian officials and two trees indigenous to their country were planted in their honor. In 1991 the sculpture Peace Cradle, by Utah artist Dennis Smith, was erected in memory of Mr. Lowell Turner, the leading Utah proponent of better Soviet-U.S. relations. In 1989, Turner helped establish the Soviet city of Chernovtsy – in the Ukraine – as Salt Lake’s sister city.

“Dennis Smith is as much a philosopher as he is an artist. His work is a window into who he is and his views on life. His impressionistic style captures his exuberance for life and embodies his passion for transcendence—expressed through the spontaneity of children, reflections of the past, and hopes for the future. At the core of Dennis’ work is the spirit of the human soul. We often see this represented through the innocence of childhood. To Dennis, the child is a metaphor for life. Children’s lives, as they explore the world around them, parallel our lives as adults as we discover our identity in this universe. Each piece by Dennis Smith captures this spirit, still vibrant and alive, frozen in the moment of discovery.” Courtesy of artist’s website.

The Doll and Dare

Like sunspots etching meaning
To the weather of our days,
Or rays of sunlight falling
With a shimmer shadow
Through the leaves of meadow trees

Like early winter morning hoarfrost
Clinging to the highest twigs
And branches, melting with the sun.
But staying crisp and crystalized
With the memory and mind.

Like children playing on the bench
Of summer gestures frozen
As we see them with their skirts
And shirts still there suspended
As the wind had left them –

Still as real and still as time
Which passes and as long as time
Shall be – the doll and dare
of childhood dye
The fabric of all later life.

Dennis Smith