Pent/La Buidhe Bealltain, (sculpture).

Pent/La Buidhe Bealltain, (sculpture).

Beasley, George, sculptor.

Pent/La Buidhe Bealltain, (sculpture).

Arch of the God of Fire, (sculpture).

Digital Reference:

Arch: cast iron and cast bronze; Base: concrete.

Arch: approx. 80 x 82 x 15 1/2 in.; Base: approx. 15 x 17 1/2 x 24 in. (8,641 lbs.).

(On back of left base:) 1st alabama biennial/George Beasley/"PENT/LA BUILDHE (sic) BEALLTAIN" unsigned

An arch supported by two concrete bases.

Abstract -- Geometric

Architecture -- Detail -- Arch

Mythology -- Nordic

Ethnic -- Scottish

Outdoor Sculpture -- Alabama -- Tuscaloosa

Administered by University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487

Located University of Alabama, Corner of University Boulevard & Colonial Drive, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Cost $24,000. The arch was part of the Alabama Biennial exhibit made possible by a grant from an anonymous donor. According to the artist, "the arch is based on a catenary design, which is the only free-standing arch form. This design was used in forming entranceways to 19th century iron furnaces constructed of stacked stone. The passageway is a representation of "La Buidhe Bealltain" (Gaelic for "The Feast of the Yellow Fires of Bel"). In the Scottish Highlands, people have celebrated the union of Bel, the sun, and Cailleach, the earth goddess, with a fire ceremony where the participants would jump through a fire as a form of cleansing and purification." The opening of the arch is used metaphorically as a way of dealing with the fire ceremony used actually in its own production and conceptually in the artist's work. The making of iron is also a form of cleansing through which the impurities are expelled leaving the pure iron to combine with carbon. IAS files contain a related brochure from the University of Alabama Department of Art. IAS files contain transcription of nearby plaque.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Alabama survey, 1993.

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.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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