Erma's Desire, 1976

In an intensely competitive sculpture competition, Raimondi was named among the winners of Nebraska’s Bicentennial sculpture project, which commissioned sculptors from around the world to build 8 monumental sculptures at rest stops along its stretch of Interstate 80. This was his largest and most ambitious commission to date, so it is no surprise that he dedicated it to his mother, Erma. To this date, Raimondi is emphatic about how he is sustained by his family, especially his mother, Erma, and his father, Peter John. For the project, Nebraska Educational Television (PBS) produced a one-hour documentary film, The Five-Hundred Mile Sculpture Garden, which includes a 28-minute segment on Erma’s Desire.