"Hope" is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
- Emily Dickinson
When Blues Bird outside the Cossitt Library in Downtown Memphis was injured earlier this year, one of its wings damaged by a falling branch, the Metal Museum was at the ready, mending the new public sculpture to allow the songbird to fly high again.
The piece is an original artwork designed by Portland-based firm rhiza A+D, which drew inspiration from Memphis as well as the Father of the Blues, W.C. Handy. A haven of creativity and imagination, the downtown library was the perfect place for "Blues Bird" to perch, sharing its pop-up storybook pages with passers-by.
Commissioned by the City of Memphis Percent-for-Art Program with the Urban Arts Commission, "Blues Bird" invites the people to become immersed in its pages, reading words composed by Memphians young and old.
After some TLC to the wing, which is around 20 times the length of an average mockingbird wing, the Metals Studios team brought it back to its original home, reaffixing the wing so Blues Bird can soar once more outside Memphis' first public library.
