Wandering Rocks - Seattle, WA - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

A nearby plaque to this abstract sculpture reads:

Wandering Rocks, (1967), 1974
Steel, painted black
Tony Smith
American, 1912-1980
Artist's proof
Seattle Art Museum, Promised gift of
Virginia and Bagley Wright

"What is my intention? It is a new measure of man, in terms of free space, in terms of space that is defined but not enclosed, in terms of measurable space that flows so subtly into the infinite that it is impossible to say where the boundaries of art and nature lie..."

"...it is hard to visualize some of the pieces in their entirety. If a piece is too predictable I find it boring and tend to tire of it quickly."

--Tony Smith

The museum website also highlights this sculpture and it reads:

Mathematical and geometrical structures inherent in molecules and crystals inspired the tetrahedral and octahedral shapes of Wandering Rocks. Tony Smith, who began his career as an architect, was compelled by questions of structure, and by a belief in the mythical and archetypal symbolism of forms. Wandering Rocks finds its title in the wandering of Ulysses in James Joyce's book. The organization of its five parts pays homage to the Royoanji Zen garden in Kyoto, Japan.

Steel, painted black, Smohawk: 23 x 48 3/8 x 28 in.; Shaft: 45 1/2 x 63 3/8 x 28 in.; Crocus: 45 x 43 3/8 x 28 in.; Slide: 23 x 64 3/8 x 28 in.; Dud: 23 x 32 3/8 x 83 1/2 in. Weight: 1368 lb., Gift of the Virginia and Bagley Wright Collection, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum, 2016.17.4, © 2008 Estate of Tony Smith

TITLE: Wandering Rocks ARTIST(S): Tony Smith DATE: 1967, 1974 MEDIUM: painted steel CONTROL NUMBER: IAS 08600030 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: Seattle Art Museum Olympic Sculpture Park 100 University Street Seattle, Washington 98101 Accession Number: 1981.53.1 DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: I noticed no noticeable differences between the Smithsonian description and observation of this sculpture from my own observation. In fact, this sculpture seems to be one of the few, if not the only sculpture within Olympic Sculpture Park, to be displayed in its original environment, that is, on a grassy lawn and out in the open for viewers to walk around it and enjoy it in its entirety.

Visit Instructions:
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