Centrenyn

Centrenyn was a 115 foot tall outdoor sculpture planned for the intersection of Capitol and Main streets in the 1970s Metrocentre pedestrian mall. The sculpture took the name of the new downtown mall and added the suffix "nyn," which is Greek for "now."

The cost of the proposed sculpture -- with great steel planes representing the "delicate balance" of the agricultural, industrial, and government sectors of the city -- was expected to be $200,000 to $300,000. Centrenyn was designed by St. Louis sculptors Saunders Schultz and William Severson who noted that it was "quite an engineering feat because it appears that the top half is about to fall off the bottom half." The sculptors said of their design: "From a sparse 30-inch base at 40 feet the abstract form turns and cantilevers abruptly outward for 12 feet, making a right angle intersection with its base stem. The two horizontal planes, thus developed connect back to their stems in dynamic parabola curves, one upward and one downward. The total effect is a strong upward thrust."

The sculpture design was almost immediately attacked by critics who found it, variously, to be a waste of money and a monstrosity. said Little Rock sculptor Lucette White, "It's really not art. Just because it's big does not make it have quality." Metrocentre executive director George Millar Jr. said of the sculpture, "It's so unique and unusual that it will be a major attraction. Basically, I don't like modern art, but I don't look at this as modern art."

The sculpture plan was briefly abandoned in cost-cutting activity related to construction of the Metrocentre. It was later resurrected with the installation of Large Standing Figure: Knife Edge by British sculptor Henry Moore. Large Standing Figure was originally placed in the center of the plaza at Capitol and Main, but then was moved to Union National Plaza at the corner of Louisiana and Capitol streets when the Metrocentre pedestrian mall was ripped up in 1990. In 2008 the Department of Parks and Recreation announced that the sculpture would be moved to the newly opened Riverfront Adventure Park.

References

• "Design of Towering Sculpture Approved for Metrocentre," Arkansas Gazette, September 10, 1975.
• "The Sculpture," Arkansas Gazette, September 21, 1975.
• Bob Stover, "Mall Reduced to $4 Million," April 16, 1976.
• Bob Stover, "Metrocentre Panel Buys Bronze Sculpture By Moore for $185,000," Arkansas Gazette, June 14, 1978.