Field of Corn (with Osage Orange Trees)

Field of Corn (with Osage Orange Trees) is Dublin Art Council’s third Dublin Art in Public Places program project. The installation includes 109 human-sized (6'3") ears of corn that stand upright in realistic row patterns, symbolizing the community’s farming legacy, and serving as a memorial to rural landscapes. The project was commissioned by the Dublin Arts Council through a juried competition to develop a significant work of art for the small park, owned by the City of Dublin. The proposal from Columbus, Ohio artist Malcolm Cochran, a professor of sculpture at The Ohio State University, was chosen.

Field of Corn (with Osage Orange Trees) stands in a highly visible field that was once owned and farmed by Sam Frantz, a leader in the use of hybridized corn. With support from the Dublin Historical Society, the site is now named Frantz Park. The artist first visited the site in July 1993, noting a short row of mature Osage Orange trees, plantings which, at one time, would have extended for miles. The link to the not-so-distant farming history of the site led the artist to propose a field of human-sized ears of corn.

According to a 1995 article in the concrete trade magazine PCI Journal, “From a distance, the field of corn ears resembles the regimented grave markers of a military cemetery. The artist has used this symbolism to represent the death and rebirth of individuals and society. It is intended, Cochran says, to remind us of our heritage, to commemorate the passing of an agrarian way of life, and in the process of looking back gives us pause to think about where we are heading – all the while maintaining a sense of joy in the present.”

For more information about Field of Corn (with Osage Orange Trees), visit dublinarts.org and click on the Art in Public Places tab.

Plaque Text

"There are four plaques each describing part of the artist's inspiration for the work. Their titles are: Farming, Hybridization, Construction and Osage Orange Trees. "

Materials

White architectural precast concrete

Dates

Purchased: 1994
Installed: 1994
Dedicated: 1994

Dimensions

Height: 6'3''

Additional Notes

Three full-sized prototypes were created, each with different kernel patterns, from which molds were made. Finished ears were rotated to provide a variety of orientations so that an observer is hard-pressed to find any matching kernel patterns.

Casting took place at a concrete manufacturer in the state of Georgia and the pieces were delivered to the Ohio site in four truckloads for installation. Each ear of corn weighs 1500 lbs. The foundation for each ear is a 3' deep concrete-filled hole.