
Steps - Philadelphia, PA
N 39° 58.026 W 075° 10.937
18S E 484432 N 4424121
Two most unusual mediums of concrete blocks of similarly themed abstract sculptures by Sol DeWItt can be found at the at the Anne d’Harnoncourt Sculpture Garden located behind the west end of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Waymark Code: WMHQXR
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 08/06/2013
Views: 4
This is an unusual sculpture but I suppose every medium is a valid one. Steps was sculpted by Sol LeWitt (September 9, 1928 – April 8, 2007). LeWitt was an American artist linked to various movements, including Conceptual art and Minimalism. LeWitt came to fame in the late 1960s with his wall drawings and "structures" (a term he preferred instead of "sculptures") but was prolific in a wide range of media including drawing, printmaking, photography, and painting. He has been the subject of hundreds of solo exhibitions in museums and galleries around the world since 1965. SOURCE
This concrete blocked steps is an excellent representation of his work. Beginning in the mid-1980s, LeWitt composed some of his sculptures from stacked cinder blocks. At this time, he began to work with concrete blocks like what we have here. In 1985, the first cement Cube was built in a park in Basel. From 1990 onwards, LeWitt conceived multiple variations on a tower to be constructed using concrete blocks. This abstract sculpture is one of those variations. The pyramid was given to the museum by his estate. The sculpture and his other one next to it,
Pyramid were installed in 2010 two years before the opening of the sculptrue garden on May 24th 2012. The sculpture uses approximately 100 blocks and I would not be surprised if it was exactly that amount. The sculpture represents a stone set of bleachers but without the personal space and both rows facing one another.
The Anne d’Harnoncourt Sculpture Garden is located behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art, on the elevated terrace adjacent to landscape architectural firm Olin’s gorgeous Sol LeWitt garden.
There are many beautiful works of art using all sorts of mediums spread throughout this terraced area on the Museum's west end. Located on top of a brand new parking facility, this artfully landscaped green “gallery without walls” is located between the Azalea Garden and the museum’s West Entrance. This area overlooks the river and the Fairmount Water Works. There always seems to be something new added as recently two new members joined the sculpture club. The garden is dedicated to the museum’s late director Anne d’Harnoncourt, and reflects her passions for art and the city of Philadelphia. the sculpture garden is open to the public throughout museum hours.