PAFA Announces Claes Oldenburg Sculpture Commission for Lenfest Plaza
PHILADELPHIA, July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) has commissioned world-renowned artist Claes Oldenburg to create a new public artwork for its Lenfest Plaza. The design consists of a 53 foot high sculpture in the form of a paintbrush, raised at a 60 degree angle as if in the act of painting, with a dollop of paint on the ground below.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100726/PH40629 )
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100726/PH40629 )
"Philadelphia has a distinguished history as a leader in public art, and PAFA is proud to add to that cultural distinction," remarked David R. Brigham, PAFA's President and CEO. "The City is also known for its concentration of artworks by such great artists as Charles Willson Peale, Thomas Eakins, Marcel Duchamp, and with the addition of a third outdoor sculpture by him, Claes Oldenburg. Collecting such important artists in depth helps to set Philadelphia apart as an international cultural destination."
Claes Oldenburg's first large-scale public sculpture was the 45 foot high Clothespin created for Philadelphia in 1976. Since then, working with his partner and wife, the late Coosje van Bruggen, he has placed 45 Large-Scale Projects in the USA, Europe, Japan, and Korea, including another Philadelphia project, the Split Button (1981), on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. Like the other sculptures created by the couple, the new commission for PAFA will involve the transformation and enlargement into architectural scale of a common object selected for its relation to a specific site.
Robert Cozzolino, PAFA's Curator of Modern Art said, "Oldenburg's paintbrush design is rich with multiple meanings. Making the paintbrush into a glowing torch makes it a symbol of liberty – artistic and political – which is at the core of an art school, a vibrant art museum, and our city."
Unifying PAFA's campus, Lenfest Plaza will stand between the Academy's Historic Landmark and Samuel M.V. Hamilton Buildings. The plaza was designed by internationally renowned landscape architecture firm OLIN and will be unveiled in the spring of 2011. The Lenfest Plaza is made possible by a generous philanthropic gift from Mr. and Mrs. H. F. Gerry Lenfest with additional financial support from the City of Philadelphia.
Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is America's first school of fine arts and museum. For more information, please visit www.pafa.org.
Contact: Heike Rass |
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215.972.2031 / [email protected] |
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SOURCE The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
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