ACROSS THE WATER from Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park and a short walk past the eastern gate of the Indianapolis Zoo stands an animal on display—but this one is made of barbed wire. American Bison is the work of Bill “The Wireman” Arnold, a Wilkinson, Indiana, artist whose other wire creations include sculptures of birds and a deer in a Columbus park. A plaque on the life-size bovid calls it the “symbol of INB Financial Corporation,” an Indianapolis bank that dissolved in the early 1990s, and lists 1989 as the sculpture’s year of completion. Today, it’s become one of many Art in The Park pieces in White River State Park. Through the program that started in 1999, Midwestern artists exhibit outdoor sculptures for three years, though a committee may choose to extend or purchase a piece. White River State Park deputy director Alec Gray says American Bison predates the program and has been there longer than the park’s current staff.
While its time as a symbol for INB has long passed, perhaps American Bison serves now as a representation of the Hoosier state. Indiana’s seal, as old as the state itself, features a bison. Just this year, Indiana University revived a bison mascot nearly 60 years after its retirement. “We want to show off to our visitors and residents all the things that make Indiana great,” says Gray. “Having that as a part of our seal is just one way to tell the Indiana story from an artistic perspective.” Arnold’s Bison stands on another bedrock of the Hoosier state: limestone, stained brown by runoff from the sculpture. The barbed wire captures the essence of an American bison in detail, from its stringy fur to its wide eyes.
