Cupid's Span

Standing sixty-four feet tall, this massive fiberglass and steel sculpture dominates the waterfront of Rincon Park. It was created by the husband and wife artist team Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen and installed in two thousand two. The work depicts a giant bow and arrow that appears to be partially buried in the ground. The artists intended for the sculpture to reference the mythological account of the god Eros shooting his arrow into the earth to make it fertile. By placing the object directly into the ground, they aimed to symbolize the city as a place of love and creative growth.