See This Now: The “Traveling Man” Series in Deep Ellum

What do you get when you combine two handsome guys with loads of design experience, 10,000 monobolt stainless steel rivets, and a passion for reviving Deep Ellum? “The Traveling Man” series, three large-scale sculpture installations that celebrate public transportation and the DART Green Line, which opens this month. Reel FX Creative Studios’ Brandon Oldenburg (below, right) and noted sculptor Brad Oldham spent more than two years creating the series—and they didn’t skimp on its scale. “Walking Tall is the tallest exterior project I’ve ever worked on,” Oldham says. At 38 feet high and weighing in at more than 35,000 pounds, that’s pretty heavy metal. The installations—Awakening, Walking Tall, and Waiting on a Train­—are at three different sites near DART’s Deep Ellum Rail Station. They’re also interactive: you can cop a squat on the bird sculptures that surround all three artworks. (The birds are meant to represent the souls of the creative community that surrounds them.) “The back is slightly scooped out on the birds,” Oldham says, “but they aren’t meant to fall asleep on.” But you can lounge on the chaise portion of Awakening, and maybe lean oh-so-carefully against the legs of Walking Tall. The point is to get you to Deep Ellum. If Oldham and Oldenburg can accomplish that, they can do anything.