Nomade
by Jaume Plensa
on the road to
Pappajohn Sculpture Park,
Des Moines, IA 2007—2009
Spanish artist, and friend of the company, Jaume Plensa created two sculptures identical in scale - Nomade and House of Knowledge. Methods & Materials has seen them both through quite a few moves, especially the aptly named Nomade. Starting out in Antibes on the French Riviera, the three-story structure made the transatlantic voyage to the Art Basel Miami. It then continued to the Pappajohn Sculpture Park in Des Moines, IA, where Methods & Materials assembled it in the middle of winter. Then, it was on to the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, MI. Nomade finished its tour back in Des Moines at the Pappajohn Sculpture Park, its permanent home. House of Knowledge is equally well-travelled — from Chatsworth House in England, to Moscow, and finally to Barcelona.
Methods & Materials saw both sculptures through disassembly and reassembly, ensuring safe transport by reinforcing each part from the inside using a steel "skeleton" structure that assembles together with the artwork and is removed only when the sculpture is complete.