Empire Towers

Empire Towers
Artist	R.M. Fischer
Year	1985
Type	Stainless steel, anodized aluminum, electric lights
Dimensions	4.9 m(16 ft)
Location	Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
	39°52′39.69″N86°8′33.13″W / 39.8776917°N 86.1425361°W
Owner	Carl Solway Gallery

Last updated March 30, 2019

Empire Towers is a public artwork by sculptor R.M. Fischer. It currently resides on the grounds of the Indianapolis Art Center Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is on loan from the Carl Solway Gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio.^[1]

Public art is art in any media that has been planned and executed with the intention of being staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all. Public art is significant within the art world, amongst curators, commissioning bodies and practitioners of public art, to whom it signifies a working practice of site specificity, community involvement and collaboration. Public art may include any art which is exhibited in a public space including publicly accessible buildings, but often it is not that simple. Rather, the relationship between the content and audience, what the art is saying and to whom, is just as important if not more important than its physical location.

The Indianapolis Art Center is an art center located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The Center, founded in 1934 by the Works Project Administration during the Great Depression as the Indianapolis Art League, is located along the White River. It features fine art exhibitions, art classes and studios, a library with over 5,000 titles, and the ARTSPARK nature and art parks. As of 2008 the Indianapolis Art Center featured over 50 annual exhibitions and had over 3,000 members.

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Description

Empire Towers consists of two stainless steel grain silos standing tall on four poles. The tops of the silos are capped off with designs that are similar to those found on Royal Guard helmets.^[1]^[2]

In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French inoxydable (inoxidizable), is a steel alloy, with highest percentage contents of iron, chromium, and nickel, with a minimum of 10.5% chromium content by mass and a maximum of 1.2% carbon by mass.

A combat helmet or battle helmet is a type of helmet, a piece of personal armor designed specifically to protect the head during combat.

Artist

Sculptor R.M. Fischer utilizes objects found in the industrial, plumbing and electrical industries to sculpt, by hand, functional artworks. His early works appear metallic and thin, while his current works are seen as having "a decidedly feminine character and deals with a sculptural volume that is more Botero than Giacometti." Often abstract in appearance, his works often seem robot-like in what has been described as "futuristic and nostalgic." His artworks are found in public and private permanent collections worldwide including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Union Square Colonnade in San Francisco's Union Square Park.^[1]

Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. Heating and cooling (HVAC), waste removal, and potable water delivery are among the most common uses for plumbing, but it is not limited to these applications. The word derives from the Latin for lead, plumbum, as the first effective pipes used in the Roman era were lead pipes.

A metal is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typically malleable or ductile. A metal may be a chemical element such as iron, or an alloy such as stainless steel.

Fernando Botero Angulo is a Colombian figurative artist and sculptor. Born in Medellín, his signature style, also known as "Boterismo", depicts people and figures in large, exaggerated volume, which can represent political criticism or humor, depending on the piece. He is considered the most recognized and quoted living artist from Latin America, and his art can be found in highly visible places around the world, such as Park Avenue in New York City and the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

Empire Towers was commissioned by art gallery owner Carl Solway to encourage Fischer to create larger-scale sculptures. The "towers" are considered seminal works in Fischer's career, credited with triggering major commissions for the Massachusetts State House, Battery Park, MacArthur Park and the Kansas City Convention Center.^[1]

The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the New State House, is the state capitol and seat of government for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, located in the Beacon Hill/Downtown neighborhood of Boston. The building houses the Massachusetts General Court and the offices of the Governor of Massachusetts. The building, designed by architect Charles Bulfinch, was completed in January 1798 at a cost of $133,333, and has repeatedly been enlarged since. It is considered a masterpiece of Federal architecture and among Bulfinch's finest works, and was designated a National Historic Landmark for its architectural significance.

MacArthur Park is a park dating back to the late nineteenth century in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In the early 1940s, it was renamed after General Douglas MacArthur, and later designated City of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #100.

The Kansas City Convention Center, often referred to as the Bartle Hall Convention Center or simply Bartle Hall, is a major convention center in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, USA. It is named for Harold Roe Bartle, a prominent, two-term mayor of Kansas City in the 1950s and early-1960s. Bartle Hall's four tall art deco inspired pylons are a striking fixture in the Kansas City skyline.

Information

In 1985 Fischer's Empire Towers was chosen, along with artworks by nine other artists, for exhibition at the art symposium Sculpture Chicago `85.^[3]

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References

1 2 3 4 Indianapolis Art Center (2009). "Indianapolis Art Center Map" (PDF). Artspark. Indianapolis Art Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 September 2010. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
↑ Shane Brazier (January 12, 2008). "R.M. Fischer". Stimuli Magazine. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
↑ Alan G. Artner (6 June 1985). "10 Picked For `Sculpture `85`". Art Institute. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 4 April 2010.

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[ARTSPARK-1] 1 2 3 4 Indianapolis Art Center (2009). "Indianapolis Art Center Map" (PDF). Artspark. Indianapolis Art Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 September 2010. Retrieved 4 April 2010.

[AnnualReport-2] Shane Brazier (January 12, 2008). "R.M. Fischer". Stimuli Magazine. Retrieved 4 April 2011.

[Tribune85-3] Alan G. Artner (6 June 1985). "10 Picked For `Sculpture `85`". Art Institute. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 4 April 2010.