Lincoln is getting a big head.

It'll weigh 25,000 pounds, and be about 10 feet tall.

The colossal cranium - "Groundwater Colossus" - was commissioned by the city Parks and Recreation Department for Union Plaza, a three-block urban park planned for north of O Street between 21st and 22nd streets as part of the Antelope Valley Project.

With a price tag of about $115,000, "Groundwater Colossus" is likely the most expensive piece of sculpture ever purchased by the department, said J.J. Yost, planning and construction manager for the parks system.

"This is about as big as it gets," he said.

The piece will be visible, too, resting at the top of the creek bank along 21st Street between P and Q streets.

The sculpture - paid for by the Winnett Trust -could be installed by fall 2010.

Part of New York City artist James Tyler's Brickhead series, the Lincoln piece will be one of those made for his Colossus project, a series of giant brick renderings of humanity standing 10 to 15 feet tall.

"Groundwater Colossus" will be about twice the size of Marc LeBaron's Brickhead.

LeBaron, chairman and CEO of Lincoln Industries, owns "Truth," which gave city organizers a heads-up about Tyler, who came to Lincoln to install it.

"It's a beautiful piece," LeBaron said of "Truth." "The way he does it is very unique."

The artist crafts his mighty noggins into single, hollow pieces of clay around metal structures. Then, Tyler said in a phone interview, he cuts the pieces into bricks, which he fires in a kiln.

Those bricks are taken to the sculpture's final location and reassembled.

"Every one of these Brickhead pieces is a hand-made, unique piece," Tyler said.

"While not an entirely new direction, it's the scale that makes it new."

Each piece also follows a different theme - in this case, water.

The importance of the Ogallala Aquifer will be reflected in the piece, Tyler said.

The Lincoln piece will be a "personification of groundwater … the enormity and importance of clean water."

Tyler has been crafting Brickheads for about five years, inspired by the recurring presence of large-scale head sculptures throughout human history.

"It struck me that it's a shape that works particularly well for brickmaking," he said.

The piece will incorporate light and sound as well, but Tyler isn't sure how yet.

City officials are working to provide Web cam access to Tyler's studio, so spectators can see the work in progress.

Even if that doesn't happen, Parks and Recreation Director Lynn Johnson hopes the Brickhead piece is able to gain recognition.

"We're hoping this kind of becomes one of the signature features of the park," he said.

Reach Zach Pluhacek at 473-7234 or zpluhacek@journalstar.com.