A three-story sculpture suspended in the air can be found on Iowa State’s Campus. 14 laser cut metal panels make up this enormous sculpture which is known as the Floating World. Inspired by Iowa’s agriculture industry, this piece provides a timeline of progress and innovation through a timeline from the mid-19th century to the present. Students are often gazing upward as they examine this beautiful piece. The Floating World by Raplh Helmick illustrates a message of progress, hard work and creativity to the viewer through the use of symbolism, sequence, innovation of the art’s genre as well as the placement of the piece.
The artist, Ralph Helmick, was chosen by Iowa State University to create a piece for the new Biorenewables Complex that was being constructed. Mr. Helmick has a bachelor in American Studies and a master of fine arts in Sculpture. This allowed him to apply his knowledge of sculpture and the history of America to create an…show more content… However, the art is mainly depicted on seven panels. The first panel features a red-winged bird, dragonfly and cattail. The second panel shows a transition of wildness to farmland and the third portrays a classic styled farm with the depiction of tools were animal or human driven. Between, the third and fourth panel, there is another panel which has an image of Dr. J Brownlee Davidson who become the head of the engineering department at Iowa State in 1905. Following this, the fourth panel has more industrialized farm which feature electricity, silos and a Ford’s Model A. The fifth panel shows the biggest change in the agriculture industry as tractors are depicted and bigger barns are also presented. Panel six not only displays a farm and new machinery like combines, but has an ethanol plant and wind turbines shown too. Panel seven differs from all the other panels as it depicts Iowa State’s Campus with major buildings made into it. It also features a
