| 7/26/2009 6:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| The “Cooperative Ant” a sculpture by Rabi Sanfo, has been installed at Wildflower Levee Park in South St. Paul. The creature and accompanying flower stalk are made of rusty metal parts gathered from a cleanup of the Mississippi River. • Danielle Cabot/Review |
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Artful ant calls SSP home
Cody Zustiak
Review Staff
You may think that once you've seen one ant, you've seen them all, but stop by Wildflower Levee Park and you'll soon be proven wrong.
The gift from artist Rabi Sanfo to South St. Paul is as hard to overlook as, say, a three-foot-tall ant would be. And once it's got the attention of passersby, the artwork has a message to impart.
"Some people look at it, and they aren't sure what it is right away," Chris Esser, South St. Paul parks and recreation director, said. "But then they look harder and go, 'Oh! It's an ant!'"
Statewide winner
Sanfo's ant is part of a bigger project. Those who have seen the artwork at Wildflower Levee Park along the south end of the river trail may find it somewhat familiar, especially if they visited the Minnesota State Fair last year.
For the past 15 years, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has sponsored the Adopt-a-River program, which commissions an artist to create an outdoor sculpture to be displayed at the Minnesota State Fair. Sanfo's was the 2008 winner.
Sculptures are made from gathered materials from actual river cleanup sites.
"Along the Mississippi riverbank in Lilydale, near downtown St. Paul, my group removed a rusting, half-buried wheelbarrow," Sanfo said. "It reminded me of an ant's head. Underneath the piece there were ants. At this point, I knew I would be creating an ant for my structure."
Other recognizable facets Sanfo incorporated into the sculpture are a gas cylinder and a steel pot.
"The Cooperative Ant," as the piece is titled, is hoped to inspire people to protect the environment, as they see the big discarded pieces of metal that went into making it.
"Ants live in community and build everything in this community in an organized way," Sanfo said. "If people did the same, the environment would be better."
"We are pleased and honored to host the sculpture because it connects the city to the river," Esser said. "Maybe it will make people think twice before throwing trash in the river or littering."
River spot a natural
In 2004, Sanfo emigrated from West Africa and settled in Minneapolis. His artwork is generally inspired by the outdoors and the environment in his home country.
After the state fair, Esser said, the DNR contacted South St. Paul to inquire about a possible home for the sculpture, which is named "The Cooperative Ant." The DNR was looking for a public place along the riverfront for it, and Esser recommended Wildflower Levee Park. The small park is tucked between the river and the trail about a mile south of the spiral bridge, and near Grand and Hardman avenues. The clearing is also home to a few stone picnic tables and a nook with benches to view the river.
"It's one of the only parks along the river where there isn't parking nearby, so we knew it would be safe," Esser said. "We thought it was a great idea."
"It's pretty cool," South St. Paul Mayor Beth Baumann said of the sculpture. "It looks like it fits there."
Normally, the city and the artist work out a contract to have the sculpture in place for a certain number of years, Esser said. But Sanfo decided to give it as a gift instead.
"We picked it up June 24 from the fairgrounds, took it apart, transported it to the park and put it back together," Esser said. "Now it's there for good."
The sculpture is another addition to the city's growing outdoor art collection.
There's also a piece of artwork in front of Central Square Park and the Trailhead River Environmental Action Program's sculpture at Simon's Ravine Trailhead.
"Arts and parks go one in the same," Esser said. "We value that here in South St. Paul as much as anywhere else."
Cody Zustiak can be reached at staffwriter@lillienews.com or 651-748-7824
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