Art Peace

by Jenny Revitz Soper

Title

Art Peace

Artist

Jenny Revitz Soper

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

"Double Ascension" by Herbert Bayer was one of the first public art pieces commissioned as part of the redevelopment of downtown Los Angeles and has remained one of the best. At ARCO Plaza (now City National Plaza), Bayer was also responsible for designing the open space at the office and shopping complex. Rising from a fountain like two spiraling staircases, "Double Ascension's" bright orange-red aluminum steps are a bold contrast to the surrounding dark colors and materials. Differences in light intensity on the individual steps are an illusion from the light reflecting at different angles. Kinetic effects are created by the cascading water of the surrounding fountain and the rotating motion seen when walking around the sculpture.

Dark gray granite unites the color and texture of the 60 foot diameter fountain with the building facades, the plaza floor and the public sidewalk while the spacious and open entrance to the plaza highlights the installation and makes it one of downtown's most striking landmarks. The low steps circling the fountain form an intimate theater that is at once separate and part of the city, inviting people to sit and watch, touch, and hear the water cascading over the pool's curved rim.

Bayer originally titled the work "Stairway to Nowhere," but changed it after ARCO executives complained that the title did not properly reflect the company's goals. The original title may have foretold the company's takeover by BP-Amoco in 1999 and its disappearance as a corporate entity.





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December 4th, 2017

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