From the Playa to the Plaza: B·E·L·I·E·V·E

Section of  the cut-out bird silhouette of  the “BELIEVE” sculpture

What you see in the top picture is the upper backside of the letter B in the “BELIEVE” sculpture. This popular, seven-letter sculpture by Jeff Schomberg and Laura Kimpton [BELIEVE In Reno] has found its permanent place in downtown Reno. The letters, two to three times as tall as an erect human being, are standing on City Plaza, aka Art Plaza—with the historic, recently renovated United States Post Office across the Truckee river in the background.

“BELIEVE” sculpture during the Sculpture Fest in May 2015 (then a few blocks north from City Plaza)

Jeff Schomberg was present with his Burning Man playa bike during the docent-led “Downtown Mural and Burning Man Art Tour” on the opening day of Artown this year. The walking tour started at the “BELIEVE” sculpture, a contribution to the 2013 Burning Man event. Jeff told us that it takes about three to four weeks to fabricate a single letter. The City of Reno paid $10,000 per letter. A signature of the sculpture is the cut-out bird silhouette, which transforms each letter into an art object of its own. While the sun and clouds are moving over Reno, letters are individually changing in appearance. The artists have played with the sculpture in the past by turning selected letters upside down. Welcome to the convertible perceptions of the word believe. Great to have inspiring letters and artists in town. Kids will get some hands-on experience with a word; maybe even before they know how to read.

Kids love both the letters and the birds

BELIEVE it or not, large-scale outdoor sculptures attract more and more visitors to downtown Reno, turning the city into an urban-art hot spot—and not only during the month of Artown.