In Garden City — the rural heart of the high plains — stands “El Arco,” a 14-foot-tall sculpture erected in 2023. You can find the artwork on 8th Street, in Garden City’s historic downtown, across from Central Cup Coffee House. Clad in a yellow-orange ombre of ceramic tiles printed with a “photo album” of the city that helped mold the artist — Armando Minjárez Monárrez — the sculpture both reflects the life of the artist and our own lives and times. It suggests both the opportunities and restrictions of 2020s rural America, and most of all a very American tale of cobbling together our futures with the support and guidance of our communities. Since his days studying art at Garden City Community College in 2005, western Kansas has held a soft spot in Minjárez’s heart. In early 2021, he heard from longtime mentor Carole Geier about a Garden City Arts grant cycle with a nearing deadline. Ideas of what forges community quickly generated a proposal submission. He has known Geier since he lived in Garden City, he said. “She is someone who has made an effort to stay in touch with me — I wouldn’t have been able to participate in (this grant) it wasn’t for her,” he said. “I’m grateful for her.” Minjárez’s submission was selected, and the execution of the project started. This pandemic project took longer than expected. Garden City Art’s director, Caty Guthrie, said they faced “supply chain issues,” with the ceramic arch originally meant to be constructed from steel.
Source: Kansas Reflector
