ATA Centennial Sculpture
July 27, 2020
Alberta Teachers Centennial SculpturePublic Art – Corten Steel Fabricated Structure
Artist – Richard Tosczak Prime Contractor – Behrends Group
Final Finish – Behrends Group Fabricated Corten Steel Portion – Imark Architectural Metals
This Art Piece is located at the Alberta Legislature, The Garden is dedicated to the province’s teachers and commemorates the ATA’s 100th anniversary. The poem is scrawled like graffiti all over the massive steel sculpture dedicated to Alberta’s teachers that was unveiled Oct 5, 2019 at the Alberta Legislature.
The sculpture itself depicts seven student faces looking outward. Taken together, they form a tree. Symbolically, it speaks to the vital relationships between teachers, students, and their communities.
Behrends was approached by Artist Richard Tosczak to work as the Prime Contractor in developing this beautiful Sculptured Piece, made from Corten Steel. Behrends created the 3D renderings which strategically fit each face into position for proper install, layout, and structure.
Working closely with our Sub Contractor, Behrends project managed each point of fabrication for the Corten Steel. From there Behrends applied the unique finishes and developed a method to create the scripture on the Cor-ten Steel.
Corten steel is a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting and form a stable rust-like appearance after several years’ exposure to weather elements. Because Corten steel naturally ages and matures, it is constantly changing its physical appearance which posed a great challenge in developing a method to keep the scripture visible on the Corten steel without adding any additional materials to the Corten. Behrends thoroughly researched products and incorporated them with a sandblasting technique to develop the unique finish, the remainder is in Mother Nature’s hands.
