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Label Text This circle of 23 panes of partially silvered colored glass illuminated by a lantern in the center, was commissioned for the Pappajohn Sculpture Park. In this work, like his body of work as a whole, the artist uses the elements that make up the physical world and our perception of it, such as light, air, and space, to provide a contemplative and sensory experience for the viewer. The pavilion brings together a number of ideas in Eliasson’s art that he has wanted to connect for a long time. On one hand, it is a light sculpture on which light creates a sparkling, prismatic quality and causes each glass section to change color as you circulate through it. Perhaps most significantly, the light of the lantern also functions as a “positioning light.” The artist envisions the sculpture park as an ocean with waves where the lantern’s light can be used like a lighthouse for orientation and guidance.
Published References"John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park", Lea Rosson DeLong, ed., Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa, 1923, pp. 64-71, p. 143, front and back covers
DimensionsOverall: 108 × 372 1/2 in. (274.3 × 946.2 cm)
Overall: 9 × 31 ft. (2.7 × 9.5 m.)
Accession Number 2013.42
Classificationssculpture

Images (1)

Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines

Audio (3)

Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
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Photo Credit: Richard Sanders, Des Moines
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Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
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Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
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Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
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Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
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Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
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Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
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Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
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Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
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1958