WP3 Rough Draft

Dearest Stairway Balusters,
I can no longer hide my true feelings of impression and admiration for you. When I first laid eyes on you, I knew you'd be the sculpture-my sculpture- with your resonating motifs reminding of the sweet agony that was art history. At first glance, you seemed more like a fence placed in the corner to hide the strange piece of artwork. Too close to the ground for the designs in the interior to be appreciated and further studied, I wondered why you might even be considered a sculpture at all because quite frankly you resemble a weathered fence that had no other place to go. It seemed even the university sought to hide you on low on the concrete wall, behind the overgrown foliage and shade of the looming tree. Alas the more time I spent outdoors with you only made me appreciate your presence for what it truly was; a decorative ornament with enough calming qualities to make a casual passerbyer feel comfortable to enjoy the outdoors. Manmade married with natural motifs, you work to bring together these two aspects to ease a, for example a student, into the natural world though they are surrounded by the hustle and bustle of a city and large university. What I'm trying to say is, you make life easier for anyone struggling and finds themselves in your particular niche of the sculpture gardens by creating a relaxing ambiance.

Tragedy darkens your past, but helped me further understand you and what your creator, Louis Sullivan, attempted to do with your design. The intertwining, vegetative motifs on your shaft were a signature of Sullivan in helping him reflect the interior of a building, paradoxically, in a humanistic natural way. I had so many questions about why you were being used as a decorative piece when you were meant to be a functional piece, but none of my questions were answered. Rather I found out that many other architectural pieces done by Sullivan were destroyed after World War II and only a few rare pieces survived destruction. Miraculously, you were saved from the front of the department store you adorned and were given to the Institute of Art in Chicago, until you were eventually donated to your present home at the university. Therefore, you are a rare piece of history gracing the university for the education and appreciation of the students. The fact that you represent such a successful man that is still considered the father of modernism and inventor of the skyscraper, makes you a kind of ambassador for the students coming to study.

My interest was sparked when I began to realize that you weren't simply a fence but were mounted and placed a concrete wall for a particular reason. Maybe you had strictly been transformed into an art piece rather than the functional piece you used to be while in Chicago. The way in which you were arranged was interesting because the gap between each separate baluster was huge. Too large to be used as a functional piece because a person would be able to fall through if they were used as a fence or as actual balusters. The balusters had been arranged to frame the concrete behind it, giving the piece more texture. The fact that the balusters would be framed by metal that was not originally part of the work and concentrating on more than the balusters within the frame, shows the intention to be used and seen as a piece of art. The frame focuses the attention on the balusters, though it plays an important role in connecting the architectural pieces to the world of art.

Placement is key in the relaxing atmosphere that you give off in the garden. You do not sit in the line of sight of a person and are tucked in the corner, but all for a clever reason. You are a piece of art that does not push yourself on the minds of people, rather you let them see and appreciate you on their own terms. Something I find quite endearing, especially since they would most likely come to this quaint place to study or enjoy a peaceful lunch. You lie at a level that many would never take much notice until they sit down on a bench that would be in the vicinity. Like a panther you hide in the shadows, until someone casts a sideways glance and begins to see the artistry hidden by the shadow and positioning.

Organic line, whether intentional or not, plays another huge part in the calming artistic appeal. Your structure as a whole has no geometric or sharp lines, providing an artistic element that is easy on the eyes of whomever look upon your beauty. Initially the organic line used in your “outline” invites a casual observer to move their eye inward to the true motif of your body, revealing the artistry of your former functionality. Intertwining vines dominant your surface with a few oval shaped disks, resembling those found on family crests. Organic line conquering the design on your surface is simplistic and “toned down,” creating an earthy feel. Earthy in the way that you somehow belong to the space you inhabit, with almost every aspect of you being a subtle beauty shyly flirting with nature.

The natural motifs show the inspiration of your creator, showing the natural beauty even on them manmade. Resonating motifs invading almost the entire baluster connects your cast iron with foliage surrounding you. Imitating nature in an artificial way you connect the viewer to nature by falsely separating them, giving a sense of security to people who are more likely than not used to nature. With every part of you toned down, creating a feeling of serenity while next to you, the sculpture garden has been graced by your placement. I have spent so much time with you, but have not revealed my devotion to you until now.....well flattery is the highest form of flattery, so to prove my love to you I will strike the most graceful baluster pose I have ever struck. I hope you like it!

XOXO

Erin

WP3 Statement of Purpose

Stairway Balusters a rare example of Louis Sullivan's architectural genius has been placed in one of the most inappropriate places in the entire University of Nebraska, where it goes unappreciated. They are subtly placed in a corner of a ledge where the casual passerby would never even glance at it, which is a pity considering the history of Sullivan pieces. In short, Louis Sullivan was considered to be a maverick of his time. With his unique natural and geometric motifs reflecting the interior of the building and the invention of the modern day skyscraper, Sullivan became known as the father of modernism. His architecture inspired a group of aspiring architects to open the Prairie School, with Sullivan as inspiration, as well as influencing and teaching several well known architects including Frank Lloyd Wright. Unfortunately after the World War II there was a movement known as the urban renewal, influencing the government to demolish several of Sullivan's buildings and small architectural pieces. The Stairway Balusters were created to adorn the facade of the Schlesinger & Mayer Department Store in Chicago, but during the urban renewal the balusters were removed during the remodeling. They were fortunately saved and given to the Institute of Art in Chicago, where they stayed until they were donated to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Even though the balusters are in a spot where they will most likely go unnoticed, they serve a purpose in the sculpture garden. Almost every aspect of the balusters, for example placement, serve the needs of students by making it a more relaxing environment to work or simply eat lunch. The balusters are framed by a large piece of metal not originally part of the work. The work has been moved below the normal eye level, to that of what balusters usually would be found. Meaning that the piece isn't meant to be seen unless the person is sitting on the bench beside the piece or in front of it. This turns the balusters into a decorational rather than a functional piece, like it was originally intended. Foliage around the piece typically shades it, muting the motifs on the body of the balusters. Muting the motifs inside of the balusters does not attract any attention toward the piece of work, so whatever the person coming to the sculpture gardens is supposed to do can do so without an ostentatious art object distracting them. Even though the balusters do not attract attention to themselves they have enough decorative designs to be appreciated as an art object in the gardens.

When one does notice the motif inside the balusters, the vegetative designs and oval shapes decorating the front of the balusters have been cast with because “when attempting to create a piece that looks natural, flowing, soft, peaceful, or calming, organic shapes are generally the shapes of choice,”enforcing the relaxing nature associated with the sculpture gardens(wisegeek.com). The dominant motifs in the balusters are intertwining vines and leaves, meaning to replicate the beauty of nature much like the surrounding area. The rust Therefore the balusters become part of the natural world available in the sculpture garden. These aspects work to blend manmade with the natural world, showing the beauty of both sides of the world, making it more relaxing for people that come to enjoy the peace of the outdoors.

WP3 blog post 4

The creator of Stairway Balusters, Louis Sullivan, was considered the father of modernism and the skyscraper. He was the mentor to the infamous architect Frank Lloyd Wright and inspired a a group of architects, the Prairie School. Geometric shapes and intertwining vines became a signature for Sullivan in his designs, as he believed that the ornamentation of a structure should reflect nature as well as the interior purpose of the building. An original piece of Sullivan's work has become rare to find because after his death his works were considered blasphemous during urban renewal and destroyed only to be replaced by more contemporary structures. Many smaller pieces of Sullivan's were saved by Richard Nickel, who would hold one man protests and sneak into some demolition sites to steal architectural pieces before or during destruction of an area.

Stairway Balusters were designed to adorn the Schlesinger & Mayer Department Store, now Carson's in Chicago, but was later removed and privately sold in during the department stores remodeling in the 1970s. Sullivan designed the architecture for the department store with the symbolic and functional needs of the consumer, utilizing mostly cast iron to build the structure of the store. The balusters literally reflect the interior material of the building as well as a standard Sullivan design. The balusters contain Gothic designs on a gate with intertwining vegetation on the inside, inviting the consumer to approach and explore.

Although the balusters were being sold separately, between 4000 to 6000 dollars a piece, the Carson, Pirie, Scott, and Co. building donated ten of the balusters to University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a gift from the Art Institute of Chicago in 2006. A large portion of the balusters were donated to the university, many remain to be sold privately but are still rare. There are several imitations being sold on the internet for a price as well, but the university has a original pieces cast in iron and copper plated, though the sign adjacent to the piece fails to recognize the fact that the balusters are copper plated. Possibly suggesting the absence or unimportance of he material used in the manufacturing of such a piece.