Magdalene (in Grant Park)

Artist Dessa Kirk (b. 1974) spent her youth in Anchorage, Alaska. She spent summers with her grandfather who lived in an old Alaskan mining village. He encouraged her to experiment with welding and other metal constructions. She received a scholarship to the School of Art Institute of Chicago in 1992, and decided to make Chicago her home. Her work, which often includes welded automobile parts, has been well-received. She now has installations in Columbus, Indiana; Three Oaks, Michigan; Anchorage, Alaska as well as several works of public art in Chicago. Ms. Kirk created the Magdalene sculpture specifically for its Congress Parkway site. In the springtime there are tulips at Magdelene's feet and in the summertime, the sculpture becomes part of the surrounding garden with vines and flowers that fill up the skirt of her dress. Dessa Kirk created this sculpture after the success of her nearby Daphne sculptures that were part of the Chicago Park District’s Art in the Garden exhibit in 2004. The Daphne pieces have been permanently installed on Northerly Island.