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With its design as a reflective, nature-filled space, it seems only fitting that Mercy Park is filled with art, specifically the Rotary Clubs of Joplin Sculpture Garden.
The sculpture garden that is part of the park at 26th Street and McClelland Boulevard is a conception of Rotary Club of Joplin and Joplin Daybreak Rotary Club, and their vision just keeps growing. Since 2019, sculptures have been added annually with the total sitting at 19 today.
Next month, it will grow by six more sculptures.
The new pieces, bronze like all the park’s sculptures, are coming from the collection of the late Harry M. Cornell, who has left a large footprint in the local arts community. Cornell, the former president and CEO of Leggett & Platt Inc. at Carthage and a major art collector, was the lead donor in construction of the Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex at Seventh Street and Joplin Avenue.
His legacy will also include these six new sculptures in addition to those he had donated prior to his death a year ago.
Cornell had a penchant for Western art, so it’s not surprising that four of these new sculptures will be in Native American designs.
Two of them were created by Navajo artist and sculptor Ed Natiya. Based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, he is becoming one of America’s leading Native American artists.
One of Natiya’s life-size sculptures is an interpretation of two young lovers on their wedding day, the bride holding a vase symbolizing their uniting as one. His other sculpture is a depiction of a Native American eagle dancer, which honors the connection between man, animal and earth.
A third sculpture in a Native American style is by the late Joe Beeler, a Joplin native who became a nationally acclaimed Western artist and sculptor. His piece is the image of a flute player sitting on a rock.
The fourth sculpture of Native American design features the image of a woman sitting on a rock. One of the two other sculptures is the image of a child feeding a rabbit and another is the likeness of two children with a flower container.
The Joplin Senior Center, which is adjacent to park, has volunteered to plant flowers in the sculpture’s container, said Barbara Hicklin, a member of Daybreak Rotary Club.
At this time, the Rotary clubs are working on acquiring bases for the sculptures, which will be followed by the pouring of concrete foundations for them. Sid Davis, a local Rotarian and contractor, will install the pieces sometime next month, Hicklin said.
Meanwhile, the Rotary clubs will host a work day at the sculpture garden from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, May 6. The public’s help in clearing weeds, planting flowers, and laying mulch at the sculptures would be accepted.
Hicklin noted that people who are unable to assist during the cleanup may help through cash donations toward the costs of insurance and maintenance of the sculptures. While the city parks department maintains Mercy Park as city property, the sculptures are owned by a nonprofit named Rotary Clubs of Joplin Sculpture Garden, which is responsible for their maintenance and insurance, Hicklin said. Donations may be made at https://rotarysculpturegarden.org/donate.
The sculpture garden has become a popular attraction to Mercy Park, particularly for walkers. It was designed as a passive park with no play space because it is located on what the community considers sacred ground. It’s the site of Mercy Health Systems’ former St. John’s Regional Medical Center, which was destroyed in the 2011 tornado. Several people lost their lives there.
The park was selected for the sculpture garden because of its natural, contemplative setting with water features surrounded by a network of paved walkways that cut through the landscaping and a small meadow.
The idea of a local sculpture garden has its roots in the Benson Sculpture Garden at Loveland, Colorado. Local Rotarian Bob Headlee has family near Loveland and during visits there, he took trips to the Benson garden, which features more than 180 sculptures.
At Headlee’s urging, Hicklin and her husband, Jim, visited the Loveland garden, and upon their return they began brainstorming with Headlee about developing a local sculpture garden.
After the idea was pitched to the Rotary clubs and it was met with approval, a sculpture garden board was formed, and it began working with the city to develop the garden.
Dedicated in 2019, the garden began with nine contemporary and traditional sculptures. Three sculptures were added in 2020 and again in 2021, and four were added in 2022. Created by eight artists from across the country, the pieces were purchased and donated to the garden by local arts patrons, local Rotary clubs, and a Greeley, Colorado, anesthesiologist.
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