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| Opportunities & Exposures: Art |
Art and Commerce
Edwina Sandys
08/01/2005
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When Dick received my sketches with suggestions for various
materials—marble, bronze, steel—he called me, clearly elated. “Great design,” he
said. “Do you think it would be good made in glass?” “Fabulous,” I replied. “But
you would have to fabricate it.” He wanted the sculpture in glass because
Monsanto made a product called Saflex, a laminate principally used in automobile
windshields. Thus began a different sort of client/artist collaboration.
Dick had made the decision to build the sculpture but wanted his colleagues’
support—and he wanted me to win them over. “Here’s a wonderful opportunity for
group participation,” I mused. “Can you get hold of six tall stepladders and six
tall men? And we’ll need a photographer.”
In short order, a full complement
of ladders and men (top brass included) was assembled in a circle in front of
the main entrance. “Could you be really kind, all of you, and stand on the top
of the ladders with your arms outstretched, and holding hands and pretend to be
trees?” I asked. “We need to study the ideal height for the sculpture as it will
look against the building and the skyline.” They looked to their boss who gave a
barely perceptible nod, and up they went. The photographer quickly recorded this
precarious moment, and soon the human trees were back on terra firma. The
pictures in the company newsletter were hilarious.
The sculpture was
dedicated right on schedule. My work on this project was relatively easy.
However, the technical side of fabricating the 12 15-foot panels of laminated
glass edged with stainless steel and then transporting and erecting them on site
was a masterpiece of engineering, teamwork and, above all, corporate
leadership. Edwina Sandys is a sculptor whose monumental works can be found at five
United Nations centers and in private, corporate and museum
collections.
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