''Dancing Through Life'' is a

public art Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically acce ...

work by artist Schomer Lichtner. It is installed on the Riverwalk in Pere Marquette Park in downtown

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Description

The steel sculpture depicts a

ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

"poised prettily" on a

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

. The cow is painted green, purple, blue and yellow, with a black face, white triangular nose and red horns. The ballerina bends one knee to rest on the back of the cow and kicks her other leg overhead. She wears a red and white polka-dotted leotard, white tutu and red ballet slippers. Both arms extend aloft, and she holds a blue fan above her head in one hand. The entire composition incorporates folds and assemblage to create a sense of angularity and dynamism.

Location

''Dancing Through Life'' occupies a prominent location at the southern entrance to Pere Marquette Park. Lichtner collaborated with the Riverwalk District BID to contribute to its RiverSculpture! program by placing the sculpture at this location.

References

2003 sculptures Outdoor sculptures in Wisconsin Steel sculptures in Wisconsin Sculptures of cattle Sculptures of dancers {{Public-art-stub