Memories of Prague is a public artwork by American artist David Louis Rodgers, the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields (IMA), which is near downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Description This artwork is composed of two limestone elements, each being hand-carved by the artist. The upper element is a three-sided openwork triangular that sits on the second element, a cylindrical pedestal. The top form looks twisted as it loops over the open space like a handle. The bottom part of the “handle” which contacts the pedestal is flattened out into an oval. The artwork is carved out of a very porous and stratified Indiana limestone. The colors range from mute grays to browns. Historical information In 1981 Rodgers was chosen to create Memories of Prague as a memorial to Louisa K. Valentine. Valentine was born in Prague but moved to escape the war in 1945. She met her husband, Joseph Valentine, while he was stationed overseas, and when the war was over they moved to the Indiana. Mrs. Valentine loved the Indianapolis Museum of art, volunteering regularly. In 1978 she died, and in her honor her family commissioned an artwork that was to be displayed in the IMA's collection. The specifications were for the artist to be a Hoosier, it was to be made from Indiana limestone, and the title must have to do with Prague. When Rodgers was selected to make the artwork, he was faculty member of the Interior Design Program at IU of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Penn. He communicated directly with Robert Yassin during the planning stages of the commission. In 1981 Rodgers was hoping to make a sundial, but the design had to be scrapped because the funds provided were not enough to cover the complexities involved in the construction of such an object. A few years later his dream of making a sundial became possible with a large commission by Crown Hill Cemetery as the Equatorial Sundial. For the Valentine commission, Rodgers ended up carving a Mobius strip-styled arch which recalled the arched doorways and bridges common in Prague. According to Rodgers, “the Valentine Memorial emerged as an expression of continuity and fulfillment as those of involved in it attempted to grasp the understanding that death completes life and that we as survivors retain within us something of the essence of the people with whom we spend our lives. The creation of a memorial provides the occasion