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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2019.11.9.2
People
Otto Piene, German (Laasphe, Westphalia, Germany 1928 - 2014 Berlin, Germany)
Title
Inserted sheets (typed letter)
Other Titles
Series/Book Title: Sketchbook: Walker Art Center
Classification
Archival Material
Work Type
archival material
Date
1976
Culture
German
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/370143

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Typed blue ink on paper
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: Recto, page 1, typed blue ink on paper,: August 2-76 / Suggestions for Walker Art Center / The River - Images of the Mississippi / 1.) Wind Sculpture on the Terrace / 2.) Windsocks and Markers on the route to the River / 3.) Neon Rainbow at or after the opening / 4.) Exhibition /Sculpture Barge on tour through locks. Other tours / offered and marker / 5.) Neon Rainbow on railroad bridge / 6.) Helium-filled streamers on trains / 7.) Shaped balloons on top of mills / 8.) Black Stacks Helium Sculpture / 1.) Wind Sculpture on the Terrace / A large "blue waves" windsock flown from a mast on the sculpture / terrace, visible symbol of water and winds; ca. 40' long; / sculpture will last 2-3 mo.s; $ 1,000.00 honorarium plus travel, / making $1,500.00, installation ca. $ 1,000.00; ttl. $3,500.00 / 2.) Windsocks and Markers on the Route to the River / Small windsocks and signs on lampposts and similar objects / marking the way to the locks and the "Pracna area" - including / the bridges - to observe the mills etc. In collaboration with / the City of Minneapoli. Costs $15-25,000.00 honorarium of / $4,500.00 included / -2-
  • inscription: Recto, page 2, typed blue ink on paper, : River - 2 - / 3.) Beon [sic] Rainbow on or near the WAV at or after the opening. $3,500 / incl. honorarium plus transportation for O.P., Alejandro Sina / and job capt., Ragnhild Kralstrom [sic]. Helium to be found in Minn. / at $150-250. Minn. crew of ca. 12 volunteers needed. / 4.) A barge or boat to be "donated" or rented, turned into a / sculpture, or appropriately decorated, to circle the Minn. / portions of the Miss., going up and down the locks; possibly / in connection with a tour of the mills. Costs anything from / $5,000.00 to 50,000.00; money to be retrieved by charging / admission; honor. included anywhere between $500.00 and / 5,000.00. / 5.) Neon Rainbow on railroad bridge; extended version of N R at / a time of no traffic; also possibly a N R carried by a train / at a scheduled time. The original N R is 400 ' long; addl. / costs depend on length of intended piece / 6.) Helium-filled streamers on trains; helium-filled long tubular / streamers to be attached to trains before they cross the / (beautiful) railroad bridge. Costs from $2,000.00 to ten- / times that and more depending upon frequency of event; honor. / (if not stated differently) 10% of ttl. costs / 7.) Shaped balloons on top of mills; they mark the mills' economic and architectural significance; in collaboration with the / mills and the Minn. balloon co.s; costs depend on their de- / gree of cooperation / 8.) Black Stacks Helium Sculpture. The four attacks of the (former?) / - 3 -
  • inscription: Recto, page 3, typed blue ink on paper: River - 3 - / 8.) Black Stacks Helium Sculpture contd. / power station on the left bank are prominently visible / without their being obscured or their space envelope / being obstructed by power lines, signs or lamposts [sic] etc. / To fly tubular sculptures or "rainbows" from their tops / would provide a huge temporary assembly of proportions / matching the great River. Collboration of U (which has / installations of Stacks premises) and one or several / authorized "stack climbres" [sic] required. / Inflatables can be attached to tops of stacks without / any of my (or your) crew having to go near them, with / the help of ropes and wires. / No FAA problems because site is more than 5 mi.s distant / from airport. / Costs ca. $ 7,000.00 incl. O.P. honor. of $ 1,000.00 plus tra / vel plus on assistant (plus Minn. volunteer crew) / 9.) Downstream floating message contest, in collaboration with / all Minn. High Schools and Colleges

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Elizabeth Goldring Piene, gift; to the Busch-Reisinger Museum, 2018.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, Gift of Elizabeth Goldring Piene
Copyright
© Otto Piene Estate
Accession Year
2019
Object Number
2019.11.9.2
Division
Modern and Contemporary Art
Contact
am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
Between pages 17 and 18

Subjects and Contexts

  • Animating the Page

Related Works

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu