Twenty-Five Scientists: A Sculptured Gateway - Tucson, Arizona
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Max and 99
N 32° 13.892 W 110° 57.085
12S E 504577 N 3566100
Intricately designed gateway by the University of Arizona Chemistry Building
Waymark Code: WM9508
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 06/29/2010
Views: 14
This is a remarkable sculpture, consisting of a gateway on the north side of the U of A Chemistry Building. The top of the arch consists of 24 colorful scientists, all performing different experiments or holding various scientific equipment. Each scientist is about 9 inches tall, and the artist did a great job with detail. It is a beautiful addition to the campus artwork. The sculpture is easily seen from the walkway along the main campus corridor.
From the Smithsonian Art database:
Description:
A sculptured gateway consisting of a main arch and horizontal flanking I-beams containing twenty-five tiny figures of scientists dressed in white lab coats. One of the figures that stands to the far left of the sculpture is identified as a portrait of University of Arizona professor Donald Huffman. He is depicted holding the "buckyball" molecule which he discovered. Each of the scientists stands adjacent to or holds a representational object from the sciences. The objects include a stalk of corn, a mushroom, a molecular model, a skeleton, insects, a microscope, a cactus, and a scale. Often the scientific symbol is larger than the scientist. All of the figures are colorfully painted and seem to march across the top of the beams and middle arch. The central arch curves up from the top of the two outside I-beams and all are supported by circular columns, three to a side, positioned beneath the flanking I-beams. The columns, beams, and arch are painted eggplant purple. The beams and arch show the rivets used to hold them together. The two outer columns on each side taper into thin necks resembling gas canisters or flasks used in scientific laboratories. Each of the six columns is bolted to a wider, circular foundation.
Dimensions:
Overall: approx. 14 x 57 x 1 ft.; Base support columns: each approx. H. 14 ft. x Diam. 20 in.
Remarks:
The sculpture cost approximately $40,000, and was funded under the One Percent for Art Program. University of Arizona professor Donald Huffman, who discovered a new molecule known as the "buckyball" molecule, is one of the scientists depicted in the sculpture. Huffman called the artist and told him it was his molecule on the sculpture, prompting the artist to retouch an adjacent figure to look like the professor. IAS files contain a University of Arizona news release dated Dec. 9, 1992; a University of Arizona, Office of Public Information "Newstip" dated Dec. 17, 1992; and articles from the Arizona Daily Star, Dec. 23, 1992, pg. 1B-2B, and the Arizona Daily Wildcat, Jan. 20, 1993, pg. 4.
TITLE: Twenty-Five Scientists: A Sculptured Gateway
ARTIST(S): Greenamyer, George, 1939- , sculptor.
DATE: 1992. Installed Dec. 21, 1992 - Dec. 24, 1992.
MEDIUM: Sculpture: painted steel; Base: painted steel.
CONTROL NUMBER: IAS AZ000568
Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link]
PHYSICAL LOCATION:
University of Arizona, north entrance to Chemistry Building
DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH:
none
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Visit Instructions:
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