Marianthe, (sculpture).

Marianthe, (sculpture).

Tacha, Athena, 1936- , sculptor.

Volker, Joe, contractor.

Adkins, Donald F., contractor.

George T. Mann (Firm), contractor.

Marianthe, (sculpture).

Commissioned 1985. May 1985-July 1986. Copyrighted 1986. Dedicated Oct. 29, 1986.

Digital Reference:

Red brick, cedar, concrete.

Approx. 9 x 45 x 60 ft.

(Sandblasted on an outside wall at the entrance to the piece:) MARIANTHE BY/ATHENA TACHA/(copyright symbol) 1986/GEORGE MANN/GENERAL CONTRACTOR/DONALD ADKINS/MASONRY CONTRACTOR (Separate inscription on sculpture:) FUNDED BY/STATE OF FLORIDA/ART IN STATE/BUILDINGS ACT/AND CAMPUS/STUDENT GOVERNMENT/ASSOCIATION/1985. unsigned

A maze in the form of two spirals, set into a flat concrete base. The maze is made of red brick and mortar and constructed with spaces left between bricks for a screen effect. Wooden benches are built into some of the walls. At the center of one spiral is a brick planter.

Formerly administered by State of Florida, Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, Art in State Buildings Program, The Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida 32399

Fromerly located University of South Florida, Fort Myers Branch Campus, Between Adjoining University of South Florida and Edison Community College campuses, Fort Myers, Florida until 1997.

Formerly administered by Edison Community College, Fort Myers Campus, Auxiliary Services, 8099 College Parkway S.W., P.O. Box 60210, Fort Myers, Florida 33906

Formerly located Edison Community College, Fort Myers Campus, Fort Myers, Florida 33906 1997-2000.

The title, Marianthe, comes from the Greek root for flower (anthos). The sculpture was commissioned for $48,500, partly with funds from Florida's Art in State Buildings Program (25,000) and partly with a contribution from the 1985 USF student government association. Contractors for the piece were George T. Mann, masonry subcontractor Donald F. Adkins, and masonry foreman Joe Volker. IAS files contain the dedication brochure, a newspaper article from the Fort Myers News-Press, Oct. 30, 1986, and a University of South Florida memo, dated May 2, 1986, which includes the artist's statement regarding the intent and meaning of the work.

In 1997, the University of South Florida sold the land on which Marianthe was sited to Edison Community College. On February 12, 2000, Edison Community College demolished the piece on the grounds that it had deteriorated.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Florida survey, 1994.

Florida Department of State, 1990.

Tacha, Athena, 1997.

Sculpture Magazine (April 2000): pg. 7.

Sculpture Magazine (Sept. 2000): pg. 37-38.

Tacha, Athena, "Dancing in the Landscape: The Sculpture of Athena Tacha," Washington, D.C.: Editions Ariel of Grayson Publishing, 2000, pg. 95.

Sculpture Magazine (April 2000): pg. 7.

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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