ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A focal point in downtown Albuquerque is about to turn into something unexpected, a clocktower with feathers and even bird sounds. A local artist behind the project hopes the project will bring the Alvarado Transit Center clock tower back to life. She believes it will help revive downtown and bring some new charm. “So, I thought this would be the time to bring it back to life,” said Evelyn Rosenberg, Albuquerque-based artist.
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Rosenberg is leading the team now transforming the Alvarado Transportation Center clock tower into something unexpected. “I saw that tower which had these little niches perfect for a cuckoo clock,” said Rosenberg.
It’s an idea that stemmed from a final project proposal in a CNM class focused on using technology in art. “The artist conceived of it during her class and she just wanted to bring some joy and a little bit of humor to the clock tower because a lot of people come through Central Ave.,” said Sherri Brueggemann, Public Art Division Manager for the City of Albuquerque.
The Downtown Cuckoo Clock will include birds in the slots at the top of the tower. Each one of those birds chirps with its own unique sound and, one of them the artist said will of course be a roadrunner.
“And they would come out in sequence first one, then two, then three. Then one then two then three. And the doors would be made by my technique which I’ve developed called detenography,” said Rosenberg.
The technique, which Rosenberg has used on art throughout New Mexico, uses explosives to mold metal into shape. She helped make the scales of justice outside Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.
The cuckoo clock project will transform the transit center, a building that’s an homage to an old Albuquerque landmark. “The architecture is based on the old Alvarado hotel which used to be there and was torn down and had these little towers on the end,” said Rosenberg.
The goal is to get the project done within the next year. The crew that will be building out the project is still being finalized. They’re hope is it will be done in time for the Route 66 Centennial next year.
The project is being paid for with $97,000 in funding earmarked only for public art generated through the city’s 1.5% for the Arts Fund.
