LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Art balanced on Lafayette's roundabout


Local artist David Mudgett, on left, works to install "Resolve" with city staff on the new roundabout March 13. Photo provided

With a small group looking on, Lafayette's latest piece of art was installed on a rainy afternoon in the middle of the new roundabout at the Pleasant Hill Road/Olympic Boulevard intersection.

The sculpture "Resolve" stands 16 feet tall and consists of eight corten steel dodecahedrons balanced dynamically one on top of the other and secured to a concrete pedestal. It is a substantial work of art - each module weighs 420 pounds.

Local artist David Mudgett told the city council last year in his presentation that he had chosen the geometric shapes to reflect Lafayette's policy of putting education first, suggesting math, science and nature. The title, he said at the time, reflects the city's resolve to solve traffic issues.

To illuminate the sculpture at nighttime the artist will be installing lighting to give the piece a more dramatic feel. Staff Liaison to the Public Art Committee Juliet Hansen says there isn't a date set yet for the lighting installation but that lights are forthcoming.