Iowa City Art in Alaska

Iowa City will soon see its very own art all the way in Nome, Alaska, according to a recent article released by the Alaska Post Dispatch website.



Iowa City's own artist, 48-year old John Coyne, will take a total of 16 of his own pieces to Alaska to be put together in Nome, Alaska as a large sculpture.

The journey for Coyne will be long. He will have to travel a total of 4,000 miles with four aluminum crates of his own work until he gets to the Alaska city.

His journey will end at the site of what will be Norton Sound Health Corp., a planned 15,000-square-foot hospital located in Nome, Alaska. The hospital is supposed to be completed in about a year.

Coyne was selected for the project of about 30 applicants. He was selected in part because of his similarity with metal casting.

When he gets the sculpture put together, it will be a total of 10 feet in height and 47 feet in length. It is a sculpture of six caribou and some images of Alaskan artifacts.

Coyne knew he had his work cut out for him when he first visited Alaka to seek inspiration for the project. He stated, "This is by far and away the most ambitious project I've ever taken on, on every level."

He has been working on the project since May. Coyne, a native of Alaska himself, has been described as an enthusiastic artist who will take on any project.

He currently resides in Alaska, even though he returned to Iowa City to complete the project because he has worked with some help in the city before and prefers them. 

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