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Calder, Alexander,
Etablissement Biemont,
Haven-Busch Company,
Abstract -- Geometric
Outdoor Sculpture -- Michigan -- Grand Rapids
Logo
Sculpture
La Grande Vitesse, (sculpture).
Artist:
Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976, sculptor.
Etablissement
Biemont
,
fabricator
.
Haven-Busch Company,
fabricator
.
Title:
La Grande Vitesse, (sculpture).
Dates:
Commissioned Nov. 10, 1967. Modeled 1968. Dedicated June 14, 1969.
Digital Reference:
Medium:
Painted steel.
Dimensions:
Sculpture: approx. 43 x 54 x 25 ft. (42 tons).
Inscription:
(On east side of sculpture:) CA 69 signed
Description:
An abstract sculpture consisting of large organic shapes cut from sheets of steel. The shapes are bolted together and painted a bright red.
Subject:
Abstract -- Geometric
Object Type:
Outdoor Sculpture -- Michigan -- Grand Rapids
Logo
Sculpture
Owner:
Administered by City of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Located Vandenberg Center, Calder Plaza on Ottawa Street between Michigan and Lyon, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Remarks:
Funded with a National Endowment for the Arts, Art in Public Places grant of $45,000 given in 1967 to the City of Grand Rapids. This sculpture was the first public art to be funded by the National Endowment for the Arts through their Works of Art in Public Places program. It was commissioned by the Grand Rapids Commission and the Kent County Board of Supervisors. The National Endowment for the Arts provided $45,000; local foundations provided $49,000; local businesses provided $8,200; private citizens provided $27,700; and the city and county provided $18,032 toward the cost of the sculpture. The translation of "La Grand Vitesse"is "the great swiftness" or "The Grand Rapids." The sculpture has become the logo for the City of Grand Rapids, and its image appears on the city's letterhead, garbage trucks, and street signs.
IAS files contain a copy of the dedication program, newspaper articles from The Grand Rapids Press, April 20, 1969, pg. 1-8 and July 8, 1984; and a chronology of events leading to the completion of the sculpture.
References:
Hendry, Fay L., "Outdoor Sculpture in Grand Rapids," Okemos, Michigan: iota Press, 1980, pg. 18.
Save Outdoor Sculpture, Michigan survey, 1993.
Heritage Preservation SOS! survey of NEA Art in Public Places funded sculpture, 2002.
Illustration:
Image on file.
Hendry, Fay L., "Outdoor Sculpture in Grand Rapids," Okemos, Michigan: iota Press, 1980, pg. 18.
Note:
The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.
Repository:
Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Control Number:
IAS 87750001
Copy/Holding information
Smithsonian AmericanArt Museum
Control Number
Inventory of American Sculpture
87750001
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