Illovo Boulevard - About the Illovo Boulevard Obelisk

About the Illovo Boulevard Obelisk

Illovo obelisk handed to the City of Johannesburg

The Illovo Boulevard Management District (IBMD) recently handed over the obelisk situated in the traffic circle at the intersection of Fricker and Chaplin Roads in the Illovo Boulevard to the City of Johannesburg's Arts, Culture and Heritage Department at a recent ceremony on a rainy afternoon on 18 March 2008.

Anne Steffny, director of Kagiso Urban Management, the company responsible for the management administration and supervision of all services in this area, handed over the obelisk on behalf of the IBMD to Steven Sack, the head of the City of Johannesburg's Arts, Culture and Heritage department.

The tall, narrow, four-sided, tapering monument which ends in a pyramidal top is plastered with about 200 items in mosaic tiles and rises almost eight metres into the air.

�The IBMD donated the obelisk as a gift to the cities heritage department as an addition to their public art collection but will continue to maintain the structure. This will be a worthy and significant addition to the city's collection,� said Steffny. �The City will include the obelisk on their asset register and will arrange for insurance of the artwork.�

The Illovo Boulevard Management District celebrated the completion of the obelisk in November 2005. The artwork is a skyward pointing, uniquely creative artistic edifice - a central focal point in the heart of the Illovo Boulevard.

It proudly announces one's arrival at the Illovo destination. The obelisk's mosaic artwork was created by renowned South African artist Simon Stone. Stone explained the mosaic work as a �series of icons and pictographs of the things of this world which are easy to read�.

Tina White, former manager of the IBMD, said the Illovo Property Owners Association - IPOA - as it was then known, wanted to concentrate on the Chaplin and Fricker Road intersection as the main focus of the Illovo Boulevard and bring art, especially South African art, into the public space. �The IPOA board decided to maximise the use of its funds and build the obelisk.�

The entire obelisk design was completed by Isak Bothma of Moren Williams Forsyth Lotter Architects. time to smile a bit before walking on to your next destination.