| In later
life she turned to outdoor art, and created a series of ceramic-tiled obelisks
which she installed in public places, believing that art should not be
separate from everyday life. She particularly liked obelisks, seeing the
four sides as symbolic of the four cardinal directions, and the four seasons
of the year. One of her first was installed in Akron, Ohio, in 1984. Her
“Tiger Obelisk” stands in the Ocaseck Government Office Building. In San
Diego, her 36-foot-tall “Horton Plaza Obelisk” stands downtown in the plaza,
located between Broadway and Market Streets, 4th and 6th Avenues. Her 18-foot-tall,
ceramic-tiled “The Center Obelisk” was erected in Beverly Hills in 1986.
In Arlington, Texas, her “The City’s History” is a forty-foot tall obelisk
covered with ceramic tiles, which illustrates events in Arlington’s history
and development. The obelisk stands in The Parks shopping mall.
She
has several pieces on display in and around San Francisco: the 1989 “Obelisk”
stands at the Rincon Center, south of Market Street. Her 1987 ceramic-tiled
“Pine Tree Obelisk” is in Walton Park, in the Embarcadero/Pier 7 area.
The 1990 “Four Seasons Obelisk” stands in the roof garden of a downtown
building owned by the Hines Interests, Ltd. Partnership. And on the outside
of the Performing Arts garage between Gough and Franklin streets lies a
bronze wall relief, “The Dancing Musicians and the Dancer,” featuring a
bronze flutist, guitar player, and dancer. The figures are on the Grove
Street side of the garage.
In
Kent, Washington, her public work was “Black Mustangs,”a mural on concrete,
seven feet tall and 47 feet wide, located at Mattson Junior High School,
“The Peaceable Kingdom” consists of two six-foot-long tiled benches, shaped
as acts, and a 6,000 square-foot mosaic floor, decorated with pictures
of native California animals. This piece, installed in 1990, is located
in the Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento.
In
1990, while installing an obelisk she had created for the Eternal Heritage
Museum in Puttaparthi, India, Joan was instantly killed when a concrete
turret fell on her. What lives on in her work is her fascination with the
human condition, and a determination to record its essence as reflected
in her own life.
For specific travel information about these sites, check the "Travel
Resources" page.
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