Jack Knife Ed Mell		Print This Page Email This Page

Location

Marshall Way and Main Street intersection

Description

Completed: 1993

Media: Bronze, 8 1/2 x 7 x 3 3/4' on a

6 ft. base.

Ed Mell is one of Arizona 's premier artists. Jack Knife was his first large-scale sculpture. It is modeled after Scottsdale 's official City seal, which is a rider astride a bucking horse.

Excerpt from the book, Beyond the Visible Terrain. The art of Ed Mell: "Jack Knife has a reverence for the Old West. It is not traditional, but yet it has a traditional  theme. The angularity accelerates the power and energy of the rider and horse, more than accurate depiction." --Ed Mell

History

Two competitions were held to determine the public art piece for the prominent Oldtown Scottsdale intersection. The first was followed by a selection process that failed to yield a consensus with regard to an artist. A second call to artists and selection process ensued which produced the winning entry, Ed Mell's Jack Knife. This sculpture was approved unanimously by the Scottsdale Cultural Council's Public Art Advisory Council and subsequently by its Board of Directors.

Photo by Craig Smith

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