Construction in Space in the Third
and Fourth Dimensions, 1959
(installed
1964)
Antoine Pevsner
University of Chicago Law
School
Laird Bell Quadrangle
1111 East 60th
Street
Antoine Pevsner (1884-1962) was one of the leaders, along
with younger brother Naum Gabo, of the Russian Constructivists. Both
experimented with new materials and industrial processes while in France,
stating that “to realize our creative life in terms of space and time is the
unique objective of our art.” Although Pevsner was known for works consisting
of welded strips of metal held on delicate frameworks, this construction was
cast in bronze and features striated surfaces and curvilinear forms. Rejecting
traditional notions of sculptural volume in favor of forms that interact with the
space and imply movement, Pevsner’s piece allows the network of lines and forms
to interplay differently with light and shade as the viewer shifts position,
thus allowing a shared existence within the “space-time continuum.”
Eero Saarinen, the Finnish-American architect known for
the St. Louis Arch and Dulles airport, designed the law school buildings at the
site and advocated for a work by Pevsner to be placed within the 90 x 120 foot
shallow reflecting pool. Saarinen died in 1961, before the project was
implemented. After art collector Alex Hillman donated this work by Pevsner,
there was disagreement regarding the precise placement of the work in the pool.
Eminent architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was consulted. He pointed to a spot
with his cane, declaring that his choice would be obvious to any architect. The
piece was placed where lines drawn from the western edge of the library and the
northern edge of the classroom building would intersect. Subsequently, a letter
written by Saarinen was discovered and it indicated the exact same spot.
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