Sculpture Garden
Saturday found us wandering around the National Sculpture Garden. The official Web site can be found here.
"This sculpture presents a giant falling eraser that has just alighted, the bristles of the brush turned upward in a graceful, dynamic gesture."
"[The] bird was cast from an object the artist created, while the head was cast from a cardboard box and the body from a donkey yoke. Through the juxtaposition of disparate objects, surrealist artists such as Miró sought to evoke surprise and stimulate associations in the mind of the viewer."
Detail of "France Spider."
Lookie, they move!
Seriously, I didn't move while taking these pictures, the cubes did. Groovy!
"Roy Lichtenstein is best known for the pop paintings based on advertisements and comic strips that he made in the 1960s."
What the? That's right, kids, it's concave!
"Calder's outdoor stabiles such as Cheval Rouge exhibit a universally appealing grace and, though steadfastly abstract, evoke a friendly resonance with natural forms. Here the sleek, tapering legs and tensile up-thrust 'neck' recall the muscularity and power of a thoroughbred. This stabile reflects Calder's assertion: 'I want to make things that are fun to look at, that have no propaganda value whatsoever.' "
And, from the other side...
"Cubi XXVI achieves a dynamic equilibrium between the static nature of its looming geometrical components and the dramatic upward and outward thrust of its composition."
" The title itself derives from two sources: Moondog was the name of a blind poet and folk musician who lived in New York City, and Smith has also likened this sculpture to Dog Barking at the Moon, a painting by Joan Miró. "
"Here the artist suggests an animated flight of stacked chairs. A deceptively simple form, the sculpture appears from different viewpoints to be upright, leaning back, or springing forward."
It's supposed to look like a real chair from this angle. Um... I said: supposed to.
"The terraced pyramid, first employed by LeWitt in the 1960s, relates to the setback design that had long been characteristic of New York City skyscrapers. Its geometric structure also alludes to the ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia."
The dramatic angle. Me like-y.
In Thinker on a Rock the artist substitutes his signature hare for Rodin's Thinker (1880), making a witty and irreverent reference to one of the world's best-known sculptures.
What you don't get to see is the picture of me kneeling in front of it mimicing the thing. Funny, funny!
"Alluding to the severe presence of the work, especially in a landscape setting, the title refers to a type of ancient stone monument that traditionally served a commemorative function."
Art? I dunno.
"Achieving a balance between abstraction and representation, the geometric forms of Untitled can be said to resemble the torso and appendages of a human figure striking a precarious pose."
Cast in bronze, the original was made with plywood. This detail shows that the wood grain was preserved in the casting. Pretty cool.
Guests to the garden were invited/encouraged to enjoy the seating. We did. Let's just say: I'm not going to move to granite seating in my place anytime soon.
"Scott Burton's work has been described as sculpture in love with furniture.' Indeed, the artist intended much of his work to be both sculptural and functional."
"Aurora is a tour de force of design and engineering. Its sophisticated structural system distributes eight tons of steel over three diagonal supports to combine massive scale with elegance of proportion."
My second favorite sculpture in the whole garden. I'm not sure what it is supposed to mean, but it's so powerful (as in: embodying power)!
"The work refers to an account the artist heard as a child in Poland during World War II about a group of children who froze to death as they were transported in cattle cars from Poland to Germany, as part of the 'Arianization' process."
My favorite sculpture in the whole garden. So powerful (as in full of emotion)!
Typewriter Eraser, Scale X: Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen
"This sculpture presents a giant falling eraser that has just alighted, the bristles of the brush turned upward in a graceful, dynamic gesture."
~*~
"[The] bird was cast from an object the artist created, while the head was cast from a cardboard box and the body from a donkey yoke. Through the juxtaposition of disparate objects, surrealist artists such as Miró sought to evoke surprise and stimulate associations in the mind of the viewer."
~*~
France Spider: Louise Bourgeois
"The spider carries associations of a maternal figure... Bourgeois' spiders appear as looming and powerful protectresses, yet are nurturing, delicate, and vulnerable."
"The spider carries associations of a maternal figure... Bourgeois' spiders appear as looming and powerful protectresses, yet are nurturing, delicate, and vulnerable."
Detail of "France Spider."
~*~
Cluster of Four Cubes: George Rickey
"The massive element of Cluster of Four Cubes is appended by ball bearings to slender arms that branch from a central post. Each cube is precisely weighted and balanced, engineered to turn effortlessly in the lightest breeze; they glide, nearly brushing one another in an intricate and graceful dance that belies their apparent bulk."
"The massive element of Cluster of Four Cubes is appended by ball bearings to slender arms that branch from a central post. Each cube is precisely weighted and balanced, engineered to turn effortlessly in the lightest breeze; they glide, nearly brushing one another in an intricate and graceful dance that belies their apparent bulk."
Lookie, they move!
Seriously, I didn't move while taking these pictures, the cubes did. Groovy!
~*~
House I: Roy Lichtenstein
"Roy Lichtenstein is best known for the pop paintings based on advertisements and comic strips that he made in the 1960s."
What the? That's right, kids, it's concave!
~*~
Cheval Rouge (Red Horse): Alexander Calder
"Calder's outdoor stabiles such as Cheval Rouge exhibit a universally appealing grace and, though steadfastly abstract, evoke a friendly resonance with natural forms. Here the sleek, tapering legs and tensile up-thrust 'neck' recall the muscularity and power of a thoroughbred. This stabile reflects Calder's assertion: 'I want to make things that are fun to look at, that have no propaganda value whatsoever.' "
And, from the other side...
~*~
Cubi XXVI: David Smith
"Cubi XXVI achieves a dynamic equilibrium between the static nature of its looming geometrical components and the dramatic upward and outward thrust of its composition."
~*~
Moondog: Tony Smith
" The title itself derives from two sources: Moondog was the name of a blind poet and folk musician who lived in New York City, and Smith has also likened this sculpture to Dog Barking at the Moon, a painting by Joan Miró. "
~*~
Chair Transformation Number 20B: Lucas Samaras
"Here the artist suggests an animated flight of stacked chairs. A deceptively simple form, the sculpture appears from different viewpoints to be upright, leaning back, or springing forward."
It's supposed to look like a real chair from this angle. Um... I said: supposed to.
~*~
Four-Sided Pyramid: Sol LeWitt
"The terraced pyramid, first employed by LeWitt in the 1960s, relates to the setback design that had long been characteristic of New York City skyscrapers. Its geometric structure also alludes to the ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia."
The dramatic angle. Me like-y.
~*~
Thinker on a Rock: Barry Flanagan.
In Thinker on a Rock the artist substitutes his signature hare for Rodin's Thinker (1880), making a witty and irreverent reference to one of the world's best-known sculptures.
What you don't get to see is the picture of me kneeling in front of it mimicing the thing. Funny, funny!
~*~
Stele II: Ellsworth Kelly
"Alluding to the severe presence of the work, especially in a landscape setting, the title refers to a type of ancient stone monument that traditionally served a commemorative function."
Art? I dunno.
~*~
Untitled: Joel Shapiro
"Achieving a balance between abstraction and representation, the geometric forms of Untitled can be said to resemble the torso and appendages of a human figure striking a precarious pose."
Cast in bronze, the original was made with plywood. This detail shows that the wood grain was preserved in the casting. Pretty cool.
~*~
Six-Part Seating: Scott Burton.
Guests to the garden were invited/encouraged to enjoy the seating. We did. Let's just say: I'm not going to move to granite seating in my place anytime soon.
"Scott Burton's work has been described as sculpture in love with furniture.' Indeed, the artist intended much of his work to be both sculptural and functional."
~*~
Aurora: Mark di Suvero
"Aurora is a tour de force of design and engineering. Its sophisticated structural system distributes eight tons of steel over three diagonal supports to combine massive scale with elegance of proportion."
My second favorite sculpture in the whole garden. I'm not sure what it is supposed to mean, but it's so powerful (as in: embodying power)!
~*~
Puellae (Girls): Magdalena Abakanowicz
"The work refers to an account the artist heard as a child in Poland during World War II about a group of children who froze to death as they were transported in cattle cars from Poland to Germany, as part of the 'Arianization' process."
My favorite sculpture in the whole garden. So powerful (as in full of emotion)!
posted by granola girl at 11:41 PM
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