The Iranian-American artist Siah Armajani has died at the age of 81. Among his many public projects, Armajani designed the Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge that links the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden with Loring Park and the Olympic cauldron for the 1996 games held in Atlanta. A philosophy student at the University of Tehran, Armajani left Iran for the United States in 1960 because of family concerns for his safety raised by his political activities. In keeping with his lifelong interest in engineering and technology, Armajani was one of the first artists to explore the possibilities of computer art. In 2018, the artist was the subject of a major retrospective, ‘Siah Armajani: Follow this Line’ at the Walker Art Center, which travelled to the Met the following year. In ‘Manifesto: Public Sculpture in the Context of American Democracy’ (1968–78; revised 1993), Armajani wrote: ‘Public sculpture should not intimidate, assault, or control the public. It should enhance a given place.’