Echo of the Waves, (sculpture).

Echo of the Waves, (sculpture).

Shingu, Susumu, 1937- , sculptor.

Cambridge Seven Associates, architectural firm.

Echo of the Waves, (sculpture).

Whale, (sculpture).

Dolphin, (sculpture).

September 1981. Dedicated July 6, 1983.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: painted steel and Teflon coated fiberglass; Base: painted steel.

Sculpture: approx. H. 45 ft. at rest and H. 65 ft. with wings extended x W. 45 ft.; Base: approx. H. 25 ft. x Diam 4 ft.

(On bottom of base, between supports:) Echo of Waves/by Susumu Shingu/Osaka, Japan/designed in collaboration with/Cambridge Seven Associates/Presented to New England Aquarium/by Sandra and David Bakalar/July 6, 1983.

This abstract kinetic sculpture is designed to give the impression of the ocean and the movement of ocean inhabitants. It is composed of separate sections that move vertically, with the whole sculpture having the ability to move in a complete circle on its horizontal axis. The base is a tepee of red-painted steel tubes which support two main wing sections that are covered in translucent white plastic. Aerodynamic techniques were employed in the construction so that the sculpture will respond to the lightest currents of air, but not to strong winds. When the wind blows, the wings of the sculpture extend to a height of sixty-five feet. As the sculpture moves, patterns of shadows are cast on the translucent white surfaces of the wings giving the sense of movement associated with the ocean.

Abstract -- Geometric

Allegory -- Place -- Ocean

Outdoor Sculpture -- Massachusetts -- Boston

New England Aquarium, Central Wharf, Plaza at Atlantic Avenue & Milk Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110

IAS files contain a newspaper article from the Boston Globe, July 7, 1983, pg. 28; and photocopy of a New England Aquarium information sheet. The sculpture is popularly known as the Dolphin or the Whale.

New England Aquarium, 1988.

Carlock, Marty, "A Guide to Public Art in Greater Boston," Boston: Harvard Common Press, 1988.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Massachusetts survey, 1994.

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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