The Sentinel
The Sentinel
- Creator: Ben Konkol
- Date: 2020
- Location: S Broadway Ave & W Iowa St, East Sidewalk, Crosswalk
- Types: murals (any medium), reproductions (derivative objects), utility box wraps
- Materials: ink, vinyl
- Collection: Traffic Box Wraps
The Sentinel was created as a portal between two narratives. It draws heavily on personal experiences in the mountains of central Idaho and is intended to cast light on the intersection of built and natural environments. The image depicts a mountainous wilderness landscape, blanketed in trees, interrupted only by a small patch of bare land, where a campfire is tended by a lone figure, crouched on the ground. The night sky shows a dense canopy of richly textured, interlocking animal figures, dancing out of the way as a plume of smoke arises from the campsite and undulates from one side of the frame to the other. By choosing to depict a lone figure at the base of the image, the scale of the constellations has been heightened, and the magnitude of personal meaning for the individual tending the campfire is amplified. The importance of the narrative unfolding above him makes him seem small by comparison- a fact only heightened by the fact that he is alone in an unforgiving environment. The intensity of the camper's experience is characterized by wonderment and awe. The animals in the firmament glow with pale, otherworldly hues of turquoise and cool silver, and below the textured display, mountains recede into the distance, with eery fog coalescing at the base of each set of hills. The scene draws on scenery and wildlife species that are common to many parts of Idaho. The image has also been created for seamless continuity on all sides of the surface application and is consistent in thematic content on all sides.
