Artist:
Brower Hatcher
Title:
Starman in the Ancient Garden
Year:
1990
Adress:
Wills Eye Institute
Website:
www.associationforpublicart.org:
A space traveler ('Starman') has crash-landed face down in the midst of a Center City plaza.
The Starman’s steel mesh 'star trail' contains suspended objects that suggest elements of civilization or nature picked up along the way.
The surrounding plaza takes the form of an ancient amphitheater and garden, with columns, classical fragments, vines, and other plantings.
www.wescover.com:
Inspired by the concept of History and the passage of Time, a neo-classical bronze face streaming from the heavens collides with earth. Trailing from it is a comet tail filled with the remnants of its journey relating to the City of Philadelphia and ideas of the future. The plaza and base of this space-age comet figure are made of stratified stone and represent the past, referencing the excavation and buried fragments of an ancient city. The figure’s head represents the Neoclassical period, while the matrix tower represents the futuristic space age. Combined, ts invite the viewer to contemplate what we have been, what we are, and what we may become.
www.associationforpublicart.org:
By mixing past, present, and future in a fantastic collision of civilizations, he hoped to entice viewers to reflect on 'what we have been, what we are, and what we may become.' When construction of the nearby building caused the plaza to be renovated in 2002, the developer engaged the artist to redesign the space and the sculpture within it.
www.jdc.jefferson.edu:
Hatcher made numerous small versions of his 'Starman' theme in the late 1980s which culminated in this gigantic sculpture that investigates History and the Passage of Time. With its comet-like tail the work extends 40 feet above the sidewalk.
www.associationforpublicart.org:
Face down on a hard pedestal, Brower Hatcher’s space traveler has crash-landed in the midst of a Center City plaza. Above the 1,500-pound bronze countenance, a 27-foot steel mesh 'star trail' stretches sky like the tail of a meteor. Inside the mesh, suspended objects suggest elements of civilization or nature that Starman has picked up along the way: a car, a wagon wheel, snakes, a pineapple, fish, a falling person, geometric shapes, and more.
The plaza surrounding the sculpture takes the form of an ancient amphitheater and garden, with columns, classical fragments, vines, and other plantings, and a mysterious small pyramid. The columns also echo the neoclassical architecture of nearby buildings, especially the Walnut Street Theatre across the street. Surprisingly, Starman’s face is serene and classical despite his cras
A space traveler ('Starman') has crash-landed face down in the midst of a Center City plaza.
The Starman’s steel mesh 'star trail' contains suspended objects that suggest elements of civilization or nature picked up along the way.
The surrounding plaza takes the form of an ancient amphitheater and garden, with columns, classical fragments, vines, and other plantings.
www.wescover.com:
Inspired by the concept of History and the passage of Time, a neo-classical bronze face streaming from the heavens collides with earth. Trailing from it is a comet tail filled with the remnants of its journey relating to the City of Philadelphia and ideas of the future. The plaza and base of this space-age comet figure are made of stratified stone and represent the past, referencing the excavation and buried fragments of an ancient city. The figure’s head represents the Neoclassical period, while the matrix tower represents the futuristic space age. Combined, ts invite the viewer to contemplate what we have been, what we are, and what we may become.
www.associationforpublicart.org:
By mixing past, present, and future in a fantastic collision of civilizations, he hoped to entice viewers to reflect on 'what we have been, what we are, and what we may become.' When construction of the nearby building caused the plaza to be renovated in 2002, the developer engaged the artist to redesign the space and the sculpture within it.
www.jdc.jefferson.edu:
Hatcher made numerous small versions of his 'Starman' theme in the late 1980s which culminated in this gigantic sculpture that investigates History and the Passage of Time. With its comet-like tail the work extends 40 feet above the sidewalk.
www.associationforpublicart.org:
Face down on a hard pedestal, Brower Hatcher’s space traveler has crash-landed in the midst of a Center City plaza. Above the 1,500-pound bronze countenance, a 27-foot steel mesh 'star trail' stretches sky like the tail of a meteor. Inside the mesh, suspended objects suggest elements of civilization or nature that Starman has picked up along the way: a car, a wagon wheel, snakes, a pineapple, fish, a falling person, geometric shapes, and more.
The plaza surrounding the sculpture takes the form of an ancient amphitheater and garden, with columns, classical fragments, vines, and other plantings, and a mysterious small pyramid. The columns also echo the neoclassical architecture of nearby buildings, especially the Walnut Street Theatre across the street. Surprisingly, Starman’s face is serene and classical despite his cras