User:Twchalwick/Tulip tree leaf drinking fountain

Tulip Tree Leaf Drinking Fountain is a work of public art located on the grounds of the Indiana Government Center South in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Its design incorporates a working drinking fountain, making it an example of functional sculpture. It was designed by Rundell Ernstberger Associates LLC, a landscape architecture firm based in Muncie, Indiana, and constructed under the direction of Jan R. Martin of Tarpenning-LaFollette, a custom sheet-metal products contractor based in Indianapolis. It was installed in 1991.

Description
As its name suggests, the piece is representational of an oversized leaf of the tulip tree, the significance being that it is the state tree of Indiana. The piece can be described in terms of two main segments: the leaf, which forms the main body and majority of the piece, and the petiole-and-bowl segment, which houses the drinking fountain. Measured diagonally from the foremost tips of the leaf segment to the back of the fountain bowl, it is about 207 inches (530 cm) long.

The leaf segment is approximately 172 inches (440 cm) at the widest point and rises about 16 inches (cm) off the ground at its highest point. It is made from sections of sheeted stainless steel, overlapped and bolted together using brass bolts and acorn nuts, supported by rib-like structures on the underside, and curled to mimic the organic shape of a leaf. It is completed by a long piece of stainless steel which forms the mid rib of the leaf. The entire leaf segment is held slightly off the ground on support bars of varying length. A series of small electric lights is arranged under it in order to produce a glow from underneath at night.

The petiole-and-bowl segment stands independently of the leaf section, but is positioned to give the impression that the mid rib continues into the petiole. It rises approximately 42 inches (110 cm) off the ground, not including the water spigot. The stainless steel petiole structure stands atop a small limestone base and supports the main bowl structure, which is made of copper. A thick, slightly irregular, oblong ring of stone forms the lip of the drinking fountain bowl. The spigot itself is an ordinary manufactured fixture; it is attached to the central copper portion of the bowl.

Site
An example of site-specific art, the tulip tree leaf is the main focal point of a below-ground-level rectangular courtyard surrounded by the Indiana Government Center’s architecture. The courtyard is accessible via an ornamental stairway on the north end, as well as by a set of entrance doors on the south end. The piece itself is located on the south end of the courtyard.