More public art for Calgary can’t be a bad thing. Well, OK, that’s not true. Another bronze aboriginal, cowboy, horse or cow would probably be enough to make some creative types pack their bags and leave this city for good. Fortunately, the latest unveiling of public art, installed by Calgary development company Torode, continues the company’s promise to stray from Calgary’s dark arts past.

Internationally renowned sculptor Steve Tobin has brought one of his roots to Calgary. Calgary Root is a swirling, white steel representation of a tree root, rising eight metres above the corner of Eight Ave. and Eighth St. S.W. Tobin’s most famous tree root is Trinity Root, a bronze cast of a sycamore stump from a tree that sheltered St. Paul’s Chapel from debris during the September 11 attacks in New York. That sculpture stands on the corner of Wall St. and Broadway.

Perhaps less well-known on the international art scene, but familiar to those who have seen the giant, colourful wind-up planes in the airport, or the strange machines and dinosaur at Chinook Centre, local artist Jeff de Boer crafted a unique sculpture to adorn the new Hotel Arts expansion. Light, the Universe and Everything is a sphere atop a pole, with an outer shell of wavy metal sheets separated by rows of undulating LED lights. When the sun goes down, a computer-controlled system puts on a light show of rotating colours that shine between the sphere’s panels. The sculpture is sure to be a landmark for stoned teenagers for some time to come.