Choose Palm Desert's Next Iconic Public Art Sculpture

Description by DeWitt Godfrey

When naming my work, I try to find a direct connection to the place, history, and context of the location.

My work is grounded in responding to the environment, the physical site, nature’s abstract geometry, and community. The question of how my sculptures respond to larger social, historical, and cultural contexts animates all of my work.

Natural geometries and systems — plant spores, seashells, honeycombs — inspire my sculptures. Through my process of packing and stacking conic and cylindrical steel forms, simple units give rise to extraordinary complexity. The individual parts of each sculpture form a community of similar yet distinct, interdependent elements that together create an aesthetic, structural, and material ecosystem. My working methods employ carefully conceived structural processes that combine cutting-edge digital technologies with hands-on craftsmanship, all grounded in empirical knowledge and experimentation.

For the San Pablo Roundabout, my proposed work takes its structural and aesthetic cues from the Desert Bluebell and other species of desert trumpet flowers. Rather than simply mimic floral forms, the packed conic elements that compose the sculpture share the same underlying natural geometry known as Voronoi structures. These shapes and patterns are found throughout nature — from the cellular structure of plants to snakeskin to soap bubbles. While my work is abstract, its formal language evokes ideas and patterns that are deeply familiar.

The interdisciplinary nature of my work — rooted in the geometry and mathematics of the natural world, the transformative possibilities of computational design, rigorous research, and the history and context of each site — creates an experience unlike that of other artists or artworks.

Possible names include: Campana, Campanada, Bel, Belle, Flo, Flos.

Rendering of Untitled by DeWitt Godfrey at day.

Rendering of Untitled by DeWitt Godfrey at day.

Rendering of Untitled by DeWitt Godfrey at night.

Description by Gordon Huether

My proposal for Palm Desert’s San Pablo Roundabout draws inspiration from the desert landscape, specifically the Argentine saguaro cactus with its prickly spines and delicate blossom. This cactus, with its columnar shape and branching arms, is a familiar sight in the arid climate of the Coachella Valley. It symbolizes resilience and endurance, as well as growth and enlightenment — its tough exterior protecting a nourishing core, representing an outwardly expanding journey of transformation and beauty. The sculpture’s form also references the nearby palm trees and the surrounding mountainscape.

Our concept for Cactus Blossom is an abstraction of the saguaro’s hardy spines — seven 8-inch-diameter “spines” fabricated in durable Corten steel. Arranged in an abstract configuration, the spines guard a delicate “blossom,” expressed as a polished stainless-steel sphere or, alternatively, a translucent acrylic sphere illuminated from within by dynamic, color-changing LED lighting. Additional uplighting will enhance the sculpture’s nighttime presence, as shown in our renderings.

Corten steel, also known as weathering steel, develops a durable, richly warm patina over time, harmonizing the sculpture with the surrounding desert environment. We carefully select materials for their durability and ease of maintenance to ensure they withstand harsh environmental conditions with minimal upkeep.

The sculpture is designed “in the round,” offering strong 360-degree visibility. The overall form is compatible with traffic circulation — bold in presence yet incorporating openings and transparency to meet safety requirements and maintain clear lines of sight from multiple angles.

With approximate dimensions of 26 feet 10 inches long, 16 feet 6 inches wide, and 17 feet high, Cactus Blossom will be highly visible from a distance, serving as an iconic landmark for the San Pablo Roundabout and a symbol of the corridor’s vibrant, design-forward evolution.

Rendering of Cactus Blossom by Gordon Huether

Rendering of Cactus Blossom by Gordon Huether