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Tompkins, Merrily,
Homage -- Tesla, Nikola
Occupation -- Science
Allegory -- Element
Ethnic -- Serbian
Outdoor Sculpture -- Washington -- Seattle
Sculpture
Untitled, (sculpture).
Artist:
Tompkins, Merrily, 1947- , sculptor.
Title:
Untitled, (sculpture).
Other Titles:
Plaque to Nikola Tesla, (sculpture).
Creston/Nelson Substation, (sculpture).
Dates:
1982.
Medium:
Plaque: bronze; Base: concrete.
Dimensions:
Plaque: approx. W. 16 in. x D. 17 in.; Base: approx. W. 121 in. x D. 200 in.
Inscription:
(On plaque:) 1856 ('Nikola Tesla' written in the Cyrillic alphabet) 1943/GENIUS/GENTLEMAN NIKOLA TESLA PSYCHIC/HUMANITARIAN/BORN IN WHAT WE NOW CALL YUGOSLAVIA,/TESLA WAS 25 WHEN HE SAID SOMEDAY I/HARNESS NIAGARA FALLS." IN 1884, AT/THE AGE OF 27, HE ARRIVED IN NEW YORK; WITH 4c IN HIS POCKET. BY THE TIME HE WAS/35 THE WHOLE COMPLEX BEHIND THE GENERA-/TION OF NIAGARAS POWER WAS DESIGNED/ACCORDING TO HIS IDEAS, HE INVENTED/THE 3-WAY POLYPHASE A.C. MOTOR STILL/USED AS THE BASIS FOR GENERATING MOST/ELECTRIC POWER IN THE WORLD. TESLA/HAS BEEN CALLED THE GREATEST ELECTRICAL GENIUS THAT EVER LIVED. AS LONG AS HE HAD/ENOUGH MONEY TO CONTINUE HIS EXPERI/MENTS HE WAS HAPPY. BECAUSE HE WAS A/MAN WHO LIVED BEFORE HIS TIME AND HAD/NO BUSINESS SENSE, HE DIED FORGOTTEN./HIS PRIMARY CONCERN WAS TO LEARN/NATURE'S SECRETS AND USE THEM TO/HELP HUMANITY. TESLA'S INFLUENCE/UPON THE WORLD IS INCALCULABLE. unsigned
Description:
Bronze plaque in the center of a lightbulb-shaped cement paving. The plaque and the paving sit flush with the ground.
Subject:
Homage -- Tesla, Nikola
Occupation -- Science -- Inventor
Allegory -- Element -- Energy
Ethnic -- Serbian
Object Type:
Outdoor Sculpture -- Washington -- Seattle
Sculpture
Owner:
Administered by City of Seattle, Seattle Arts Commission, 312 1st Avenue North, Seattle, Washington 98109
Located Creston/Nelson Electrical Substation, 51st Avenue South and South Bangor Street, Seattle, Washington
Remarks:
The plaque and paving are part of a larger installation project at the electrical substation. The project was funded through the Seattle City Light One Percent for Art program. A bust of Tesla, which originally stood near the plaque on the paving, was removed due to extensive vandalism damage.
References:
Save Outdoor Sculpture, Washington survey, 1994.
Seattle Arts Commission's "Fieldguide to Seattle's Public Art", 1991, pg. 184.
Illustration:
Image on file.
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 WA000589
Copy/Holding information
Smithsonian AmericanArt Museum
Control Number
Inventory of American Sculpture
WA000589
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