Sunnyslope Sidewalk Project, (sculpture).

Sunnyslope Sidewalk Project, (sculpture).

Berry, Kevin, 1961- , sculptor.

Sunnyslope Sidewalk Project, (sculpture).

Installed Oct. 28, 1991.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: concrete.

Installation: approx. L. 1 mile.

(On north side of street, far west end, cast bronze inlaid in sidewalk:) SUNNYSLOPE (On south side of street between 3rd & 5th, cast bronze inlaid in sidewalk:) SUNNYSLOPE unsigned

A seven-block-long installation of 13 cast bronze abstract relief images embedded in concrete sidewalks on the north and south sides of Dunlap Avenue. Two "Angel of the Desert" images depict palm fans surrounded by prickly pear cacti. Two "Mining Man with Gold Nuggets" images depict the skeletal shape of a human body; the skeleton's bones are made of mining tool shapes such as pick axes, spades and hammers. Three "Tire Tread with Leaves and Feet" images consist of bronze curved tire treads running lengthwise on the sidewalk with maple leaves interspersed along the treads. Footprints appear at either end of the tread marks. "Tire Tread with Palm Fan" is a curved tire tread running lengthwise along the sidewalk with palm fans at either end of the tread. Two "Cactus Sunnyslope" images depict prickly pear cacti at each end of the image, with human and dog footprints framing the cacti on one of the images.

Three "Tuberculosis" images adjoin each other. Two of these images depict an abstract human figure, reclining on his back. One leg is outstretched on the ground, the other is bent at the knee. The figure's torso has a large hole where the lungs should be. His mouth is open and a series of curving abstract, parallel lines emerge from his lung area and mouth and twine across the images lengthwise. The lines from each figure merge in the center of the third "Tuberculosis" image, where they meet in a pair of abstract lungs. The lines represent the dry desert air used in treatment of the disease.

History -- United States -- Arizona

Occupation -- Industry -- Mining

Occupation -- Medicine -- Nurse

Object -- Tool -- Axe

Figure -- Full length

State of Being -- Illness -- Tuberculosis

Figure -- Fragment -- Lungs

Object -- Foliage -- Palm

Object -- Foliage -- Cactus

Object -- Tool -- Shovel

Figure -- Fragment -- Skeleton

Object -- Foliage -- Maple

Outdoor Sculpture -- Arizona -- Phoenix

Administered by City of Phoenix, Phoenix Arts Commission, 200 West Washington, Tenth Floor, Phoenix, Arizona 85003

Located Dunlap Avenue between Central & 7th Street, Phoenix, Arizona

The installation represents Sunnyslope's past and present and was completed with Percent for Art funding. The community of Sunnyslope started as a tent city for people who moved to the desert searching for relief from health problems such as tuberculosis. "Angel of the Desert" makes reference to those who cared for the sick. Berry worked with Sunnyslope children, Sunnyslope Historical Society members and a folklorist to create the installation. Cost for the artwork was $60,000. IAS files contain detailed diagram of placement of each image and copy of related article from The Phoenix Gazette, July 27, 1990.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Arizona survey, 1994.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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