Museum visit by Jorge Fernando Delius

Artwork: For Dolores, also called Flores para los muertos by Tony Smith

Museum visit

Description

Tony Smith's interest in scientific principles of growth and form led to the study of cellular and molecular structure. His sculpture “For Dolores, also called Flores para los muertos (Flowers for the Dead)” underlines an important personal and emotional resonance in Smith's work that invigorates its systematic and geometric forms. The title, For Dolores, is one of many in Smith's oeuvre dedicated to a friend or associate, in this case, a design student at Bennington College. The alternate title makes reference to a line from Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire spoken by a Mexican vendor: "Flores. Flores. Flores para los muertos.( Hasher Sculpture Center)"

Art elements

Lines

The sculpture doesn’t have any straight line because Tony tried to express the motion of a molecule and the constant evolution. By having curved lines he represents the cyclical change in atoms. There are implied lines for me. For example the “sphere” has 24 points where implied lines pass through them and the center. They create a invisible and convergent point at the center of the sphere (at the nucleus, the most important part of an atom).

Shape

As you can see the sculpture has a lot of geometrical shapes. Most of them are not regular but many of them are triangles, squares, hexagons and cylinders. The main shape is the volumetric sphere with sizes: 44 1/4 x 44 3/4 x 45 1/4 in. The geometric shapes are “ in “ the main sphere and are part of it. Together form the power of a atom and show the force of unity.

Space

At the center of the sculpture there is no material, so it is an empty space. The largest side measures 115 cm ( 45 in ) so it is dwarf us.

Light

The object interacts with its setting in such a way that you can be affected when you see it. At the Nasher sculpture center there are a lots of sculptures but these one was the one that impressed me. The marble has a natural light because of its color and the architectural space helps a lot. The building designed by Renzo Piano has innovations on the roof to take advantages of the sun light. The light gives the implied motion and life to the atom

Color

The dominant colors are white and gray. They are the natural color of the marble. This wonderful color helps to the purpose of the meaning of the sculpture. The white color means unity, power, cleanness, purity. White is also the symbol of the whole (absolute).

Texture

You cannot touch the sculpture but I can assure that the whole artwork has a smooth texture. I think that the smooth texture helps to reflect more the light and also it doesn’t create shadows.

Art principles

Balance

The sculpture has a symmetrical balance because visual weight is distributed evenly throughout the composition. I think it has also an implied radial balance since it is a sphere and has a convergent point at the nucleus. Opposites like straight/curve lines are used to give the motion and unity to the sculpture.

Emphasis

For me the artwork has no defined focal point. I always rest my eye at the nucleus in order not to be queasy. It has a lot of accents in each of the nodes. The idea of motion and growth is also possible to have with that kind of emphasis.

Rhythm

The sculpture has a regular rhythm because of the repetition of each node of the “sphere” creating a subtle pattern and also it unifies the work. The structure of an atom (molecule) has to be cyclical and has to have a pattern that most of the time seems to be regular.

Media and technique

We can the sculpture in the round (see pictures). The Carrara marble is a hard material to it represents a huge challenge to the artist to give the shape. The object was created through a subtractive process. Tools like gravers and hammers were used.