''Three Bronze Discs'' is a piece of public artwork by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

artist James Wines located in the courtyard of the

Golda Meir Library Golda is a term of which the various forms stem from Proto-Germanic '' gulþą'' "gold", and may refer to: Geography * Golda, the original name of Gouda, South Holland, Netherlands * Golda, the earliest known name for the river Gouwe in the Nether ...

, near

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, United States. Made of bronze, the sculpture is three circular bronze discs located in a pool of water. It is 10 feet by 8 feet and 5 feet in diameter.

Historical information

''Three Bronze Discs'' was created for the then new

at the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

. It is set in a sunken brick courtyard outside the library. The building's architectural plan called for a sculpture, planter, and benches in the courtyard. Wines designed and molded ''Three Bronze Discs'' in plaster and the work was cast in bronze in Rome. According to Diane Buck, author of ''Outdoor Sculpture in Milwaukee,'' "The elements of the sculpture and its site represent one of the few local successful collaborations between artist and architect."Buck, Diane M.,Palmer, Virginia A. (1995). ''Outdoor Sculpture in Milwaukee: A Cultural and Historical Guidebook'', p. 137. Wisconsin Historical Society. According to Kenneth Bendiner, chair of the art history department at UW-Milwaukee, "The sculpture mixes and matches suggestions of the organic and the mechanical, the human and the human-made. It is a work not likely to incite the animosity of coming generations. One of the reasons for the rise of 'abstract' monuments in the 1960s is their ability to avoid controversial social issues. At a time of racial strife, civil unrest, anti-war protest, etc., committees can avoid the problems of representing specific people or specific events or specific statements by erecting monuments with indefinite reference."UWM Department of Art History
"From the Chair"
Spring 2008. Retrieved on 2010-12-17.

Location history

When the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was formed in 1956 from the Wisconsin State College-Milwaukee and the Extension Division downtown, there were only two academic units: the College of Letters and Science and the School of Education. The Kenwood Library (now Mellencamp Hall) continued to serve the school for a time, but as the growth of the university accelerated, it became apparent the Kenwood Library would be too small for the anticipated number of holdings. Construction began in 1967 on the first stage of a modular library building planned to provide for future growth. After additions in 1974 and 1987, the original size of the library doubled.

Artist

A native of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, James Wines grew up admiring the architecture of

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago School, a mentor to Frank Lloy ...

and

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

. After receiving his fine arts degree from the Syracuse University in 1956, Wines began competing for commissions which blended architecture and sculpture. ''Three Bronze Discs'' is one of his earliest commissions. He referred to the work as circular "geometric units designed in answer to the building's sharp angular feeling." The work is most effective as seen from different perspectives outside and inside the library, especially from the large window-encased stairwell overlooking the courtyard.

References

{{University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Art discs and ovals Outdoor sculptures in Milwaukee University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee 1967 sculptures