Donald Lipski’s The Pike, 2022
Last week our team completed the much-anticipated installation of Donald Lipski’s newest work of public art entitled The Pike in Arlington, VA. The 66’ tall Brancusi-like sculpture sits at Virginia’s Western Gateway, near Columbia Pike and South Jefferson Street. Historically, a literal pike, a weapon, was held parallel to the ground, to mean “Halt!”. In Lipski’s interpretation, the sculpture’s vertical orientation suggests the welcoming, upright position of a toll gate, referencing the history of the Columbia Pike as a toll road and one of the oldest thoroughfares in the region.
The base of the sculpture supporting the 50’ tall wind turbine blade is studded with nearly 5,000 coins from around the world, further referencing the history of Columbia Pike as a toll road. Community members were invited to donate coins to be integrated into the project resulting in a collection of 4,784 coins from 117 countries and every continent (except Antarctica). The resulting coin collection is a reflection of what is perhaps the most ethnically-diverse population of any city in the country.
Base detail showing coins from around the world.
The Pike was commissioned in conjunction with the County’s Multimodal Street Improvement project. Lipski’s intent for this site was to create a welcoming landmark. In his words, “I love it when a piece of mine becomes something that’s part of people’s lives,” he says. “I know there will be people who live in Arlington and.. they’re coming home and they’ll see it and [say], ‘Oh, here we are. We’re home.'”