Vortex

Site: Columbus State Community College, Columbus, OH

Artists: Jeanine Centuori and Russell Rock

Client: Ohio Arts Council

Vortex is a gateway sculpture that represents Mt. Vernon Avenue’s community past in the collection of place names and qualities, while the current Columbus State Community College and the opportunities of education are shown through the verbs of action and growth. Together they are a blending of the history of the community and the futures to be discovered in education.

The piece employs the languages of the community—Arabic, English, French, Somalian, and Spanish. The education arc expresses the multitude of ways that students learn using active verbs—master, synthesize, emulate, empathize, etc.  The community arc holds concepts and attributes emblematic of the local community—connection, fellowship, social, artists, etc.  These two realms are intertwined with one another forming a welcoming gesture.  From afar, the piece presents a lacy scrim that visually forms into a continuous arc, somewhat like the rising sun.  As pedestrians enter the space circumscribed by the reflected swirls, the words become legible.  Attributes of education and community are presented to the viewer for contemplation.