The Wedges - Philadelphia, PA
N 39° 58.207 W 075° 11.049
18S E 484274 N 4424456
Stonehenge in Fairmount Park one might speculate upon viewing this sculpture for the first time. Have no fear, no strange sacrifices or rituals will be performed along Kelly Drive for this is just another examples of our Museum Without Walls™.
Waymark Code: WMHTDQ
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 08/12/2013
Views: 5
This part of Fairmount Park is crazy-stupid with sculptures, monuments and all sorts of art. This imaginative yet enigmatic piece is in the shadow of the great 
Lincoln Monument across the street from Boathouse Row. The painted metal sculpture, looking every much like giant metal wedges arranged in a circle can be found on the right or east side of Kelly Drive (formally East River Drive) if traveling north along the road. The intersection of Sedgley Drive is located just ahead at the end of the lawn.
The Wedges was sculpted by Robert Morris in 1970 and to my best understanding this is an example of geometric-abstract art (I made that up). What we have here is metal (weathering steel according to SIRIS) painted red so I guess he welded these things together after bending them to suit his needs. There are a total of eight wedge. The circle they form is approximately 22 feet in diameter. There are two types of wedges: straightish and curved. Each individual narrow or straightish wedge is 4 feet 5 inches x 4 feet 6 inches². The curved pieces are approximately 4 feet 6 inches x 8 feet 9 inches x 4 feet 7 inches. SIRIS describes this curiosity as "An abstract sculpture composed of eight wedges positioned in a circle. Four of the wedges are narrow with straight sides and four of the wedges are wide with slightly curved sides. The sculpture rests directly on the grass.". I walked around inside hoping for some kind of magical epiphany or enlightenment but was only rewarded with gnats and misquotes.
After an exhibition at London's Tate Gallery in 1972, the sculpture was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. H. Gates Lloyd who then gave it to the Fairmount Park Art Association. Unfortunately, due to the rampant local savagery which plaques our city, the sculpture was a victim of graffiti, and in 1986 through discussions with the artist it was decided to paint the sculpture a rust color so that it could be maintained more easily. I wish I could have seen this thing in its natural state.
The Artist
Robert Morris (born February 9, 1931, Kansas City, Missouri) is an American sculptor, conceptual artist and writer. He is regarded as one of the most prominent theorists of Minimalism along with Donald Judd but he has also made important contributions to the development of performance art, minimalism, land art, the Process Art movement and installation art. Morris currently lives and works in New York. SOURCE