Spiral Galaxy, 1994
John David Mooney
Northerly Island
South of Adler
Planetarium
1300 South Lake Shore
Drive
Originally
commissioned by the Vatican Observatory in 1994, this 14-foot stainless steel
sculpture was first presented to Chicago and installed at Navy Pier in 1998. It
was later displayed in Sarasota, Florida along the bay. In 2005, as part of the
celebration of the Adler Planetarium’s 75th anniversary, it was
installed in its current location on the lawn just southwest of the museum.
Specifically placed, the shadow of this work marks the winter and summer
solstices on the northern ground plane. During the equinoxes, the shadow is
east and west. The piece was inspired by early photographs of some of the
Earth’s closest galaxies as well as Galileo’s drawings.
Another
of Mooney’s large-scale works can be found in the atrium of the John Crerar
Library at the University of Chicago. The aluminum and Waterford crystal work, Crystara, is considered by the artist to be his most complex and ambitious
project. Mooney is the founder and artistic director of the foundation bearing
his name, an organization that provides, among other things, a training program
and a postgraduate study program for international artists and architects.
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