New public art piece in Rockford meant to show diversity

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) - A new plexiglass sculpture in downtown Rockford is aimed at illustrating the northern Illinois community's diversity.

The downtown sculpture titled 'œFaces of RKFD,'ť was created by August-Lain Weickert, a senior at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, according to the Rockford Register Star.

The 6-foot-tall sculpture made of plexiglass panels are laser-engraved with portraits of Rockford residents that Weickert had taken during his time in high school. He designed the engraved photos to appear as if they are layered over each other, so that the view can see several portraits at once.

'œThat is the sole reason that I used plexiglass,'ť Weickert said. 'œIt allows you to literally see the layers of community and see associations between people that would be previously unrelated.'ť

Through the fundraiser created by local artist and filmmaker Pablo Korona, Weickert was able to create his first public art piece.

In 2019, Korona started 'œThe All Together Public Art Fund'ť with a goal to select an artist from Rockford to create an art piece in the city that would be funded by the people of the city.