Turn on the Lights, (sculpture).

Turn on the Lights, (sculpture).

Morales, Concetta, 1960- , sculptor.

Turn on the Lights, (sculpture).

Concrete and colored ceramic tiles.

(On bronze plaque:) "Turn on the Lights"/June 1997/ARITST-CONCETTA MORALES, DES MOINES/Youth Groups/Boys and Girls Home of Ft. Dodge/Youth Shelter Care of North Central Iowa, Inc./Fort Dodge Senior High School/Summer School/DONATED SERVICES:/Fort Dodge Firefighters Association, Local #622/Fort Dodge Police Association, Local #2003, IBAT/William Fletcher Woodruff Construction/American Concrete Products/Kaalin-Johnson Monument Company/Fort Dodge Rent-All/YOUTH OPPORTUNITITES SPONSORED BY:/Iowa Arts Council and Community Focus Program.

The work consists of two V shaped concrete benches with colorful mosaics on the sides and a round concrete planter. The mosaics reflects various aspects of Fort Dodge, the diversity of its population and symbols of its culture. Among the images are an American flag, a Mexican sombrero, a person in a wheel chair, and architectural elements of the Blanden Memorial Art Museum.

Allegory -- Place -- Fort Dodge

Outdoor Sculpture -- Iowa -- Fort Dodge

Blanden Memorial Art Museum, 920 Third Avenue South, Fort Dodge, Iowa 50501

The name of the sculpture comes from an incident in the 1970s when the local community suffered an economic down turn with a loss of jobs and a decline of population. Radio commentator Paul Harvey stated that the last person to leave the community should "turn our the lights." In the 1990s the community responded with a promotional campaign entitled "The lights are on again in Fort Dodge." Among the many developments was the construction of a new library and programs aimed at youth of Fort Dodge. This sculpture titled "Turn on the Lights" commemorates those efforts and involved youth groups from the Boys and Girls Home of Fort Dodge, Youth Shelter Care of North Central Iowa, and the Fort Dodge Senior High School summer school.

Fort Dodge Historical Preservation Commission, 2006.

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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