''Aerodynamic Forms in Space'' is a 2010 sculpture by

Rodney Graham William Rodney Graham (January 16, 1949 – October 22, 2022) was a Canadian visual artist and musician. He was closely associated with the Vancouver School. Early life Graham was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on January 16, 1949. ...

located at the

Georgia Street Georgia Street is an east–west street in the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Its section in Downtown Vancouver, designated West Georgia Street, serves as one of the primary streets for the financial and central busi ...

entrance to

Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada, that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Vancouver, Downtown peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay, Vancouver, English Bay. The park bor ...

in Vancouver, Canada. The work was commissioned by the City of Vancouver for the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

. The inspiration for the sculpture was photos Graham took in 1977 of misassembled toy glider parts. The sculpture depicts airplane parts abstractly placed and painted to look like

balsa ''Ochroma pyramidale'', commonly known as balsa, is a large, fast-growing tree native to the Americas. It is the sole member of the genus ''Ochroma'', and is classified in the subfamily Bombacoideae of the mallow family Malvaceae. The tree is fa ...

wood.

History

The sculpture was created by

. It was commissioned for the Olympic and Paralympic Public Art Program as part of the

by the City of Vancouver. In creating this piece, Graham wanted to explore modernism's history. He was inspired by toy glider parts he misassembled in 1977, then photographed. The name of the sculpture comes from the name of the exhibit of this series of photographs. In creating this sculpture, Graham rearranged pieces from three airplane model sets. He wanted the sculpture to resemble a work by

Anthony Caro Sir Anthony Alfred Caro (8 March 192423 October 2013) was an English abstract sculptor whose work is characterised by assemblages of metal using ' found' and industrial objects. He began as a member of the modernist school, having worked with ...

. Construction crews started preparing the site for the sculpture in December 2009. The sculpture was installed on its site in January 2010.

Description

The sculpture abstractly depicts a blue elastic band, a plastic, red propeller that is turned by the wind, and wheels that move up and down in a short distance. Parts resembling an airplane wing, fuselage and tail are painted to resemble

wood. The base of the sculpture looks like a structure that a model airplane would be placed on. A plaque with the sculpture's name, resembling a sticker, is placed on the base. It is tall and mostly made of stainless steel. The sculpture is located at the

entrance at the northeast side of

. The site was previously used as a planter. The sculpture makes reference to

El Lissitzky El Lissitzky (, born Lazar Markovich Lissitzky , ; – 30 December 1941), was a Soviet Jewish artist, active as a painter, illustrator, designer, printmaker, photographer, and architect. He was an important figure of the Russian avant-garde, h ...

artistic style of Proun and Caro metal sculptures. This was the third permanent sculpture that Graham has created for the city of Vancouver.

Reception

Patrik Andersson, associate professor at

Emily Carr University of Art and Design The Emily Carr University of Art and Design (stylized as Emily Carr University of Art + Design and abbreviated as ECU) is a public university of art school, art and design located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1925 as the Van ...

, praised the work for interpreting utopian traditions with pop culture references. Sarah Milroy, writing for ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', called the sculpture "serious fun". Kevin Griffin with the ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'' said the sculpture has recognisable parts from an airplane modelling set, but that it "resembles a model airplane sent through a malfunctioning transporter from Star Trek."

References

{{Portal bar, Canada, Visual arts 2010 establishments in British Columbia 2010 sculptures Abstract sculptures in Canada Aviation art Outdoor sculptures in Vancouver Sculptures by Rodney Graham Stanley Park

History

Description

Reception

See also

References