RDG in the Media: Art and Wellness

June 23, 2022
Lighting Design Public Art Education

CODAworx features ‘Set Open the Doors O Soul,’ an art installation by The Art Studio at RDG.

The June issue of CODAmagazine shares design and art projects that heal the mind, body and soul. Each of the highlighted projects inspires viewers by giving strength and perspective. CODAmagazine shares that projects we can connect with help us endure tough times; they can even help repair, soothe and reflect. 

Completed in 2021, ‘Set Open the Doors O Soul’ is an art installation located within Dowling Catholic High School Memorial Garden in Des Moines, Iowa. The sculptural forms made of weathering steel plates create a threshold passage and define the memorial garden space in relationship to the processional axis of the chapel. The entrance is oriented perpendicular to the setting sun on All Souls Day with a corresponding sunrise casting an illuminated cross passing through the center of this sacred garden space. 

Set Open the Doors O Soul in West Des Moines, Iowa by the Art Studio at RDG.

The commissioned art installation establishes a memorial dedicated to the deceased members of the Dowling Catholic High School and St. Joseph Academy communities. RDG’s design frames a processional experience with the textural surfaces of words inviting contemplation from Walt Whitman’s ‘The Last Invocation.’

Read more about ‘Set Open the Doors O Soul’ in June’s CODAmagazine.

Written by Erin Van Zee, Communications Director