Prominently featured outside of the library’s main doors is the South Omaha Sound Field. The artwork, commissioned by the City of Omaha and Metropolitan Community College in 2008, is an interactive sculpture by the Omaha-based artist Jamie Burmeister. The interactive sound installation is a representation of the melding of South Omaha’s cultures through music. When viewers engage the sensors on each of the seven sculptures, the chimes play music. The various compositions change depending on how many sensors are depressed at the same time. Through merging new digital technologies with long-rooted sculptural techniques, Burmeister emphasizes the transitional qualities of the South Omaha neighborhood—a community that utilizes innovations to grow into the 21st century and, yet, proudly upholds the time honored traditions of its many residents.
Construction: Aluminum chimes, galvanized steel structure, electronics, computer, and custom computer program.