28-foot sculpture rises in Scottsdale

Donald Lipski may not have the key to the city, but he does have The Doors. The artist’s highly anticipated 28-foot sculpture was installed Tuesday at the southwest corner of Scottsdale and Camelback roads, in front of P.F. Chang’s restaurant.

“The Doors” is made of three wooden planks weighing 4,500 pounds each, leaning against one another like playing cards. The interior of the sculpture is made of reflective steel, and the doors form a triangular opening at the top. The effect is similar to standing inside a giant kaleidoscope, with light shimmering back and forth on the walls.

The kaleidoscope also will have tiny LED lights, which will shoot off the steel and create even more reflections.

The sculpture marks the entrance to downtown Scottsdale, and was purposefully placed at a high-traffic corner.

“It’s meant to really make an impact as people drive by, but it will also be a unique experience people can get from walking up to it, and hopefully encourage you to come back,” Lipski said.

The artist said the idea for the sculpture came from several sources.

One came at a time when he was into making toys for his son, and imagined stepping inside a kaleidoscope. Another came during trips to Peru and Rome, where massive carved doors marked the entrance to old cathedrals.

“It was just something I thought was really beautiful,” Lipski said.

The artist’s concepts were first chosen in January 2006, when he beat out three other artists for the opportunity.

The finished product includes doors that are 9 feet wide, covered in 1,300 hand-forged rivets, lined with 1,100 feet of metal strapping and decorated with several door knockers weighing 60 pounds each.

Project manager John Grant was assisting with the installation Tuesday. He oversees many of Lipski’s public art pieces, he said.

Since the piece was made specially for Scottsdale, they’ve never installed anything like it before, so each step was carefully planned and mathematically calculated, Grant said.

“It’s never been made anywhere in the world, and it will never be made again,” he said.

Eventually, the space around the sculpture will be furnished with plant hedges to soften the look and give it a more intimate feel, Lipski said.

And the piece will have accompanying sound effects, created by Denver artist Jim Green.

Green said he envisioned a few sound elements, such as chanting or the sound of a cat purring.

His other works include sinks that sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” at a Denver art museum, drinking fountains that sound like bubbling brooks in the Seattle airport and intercom messages at the Fort Lauderdale airport that say things like “You’re beautiful” and “I like your shoes” as people walk through the doors.

“Most of what I do is meant to be humorous,” he said.

The sound element on the Lipski sculpture will be completed in the fall, Green said.

“The Doors” is the first of a handful of private-public art pieces planned for the canal banks near Scottsdale and Camelback roads, said public art associate director Margaret Bruning.

Others include a bronze monument to the Hashknife Pony Express planned for January and a pedestrian bridge being designed by architect Paolo Soleri.

Bruning said the artworks will complement the Water front shops, so that “it’s not just a shopping experience but a cultural experience as well.”