''Imploding Cube'' is a

public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...

work by American sculptor John Simms. It is located on the grounds of the ARTSPARK at the

Indianapolis Art Center The Indianapolis Art Center is an art center located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The center, founded in 1934 by the Works Project Administration during the Great Depression as the Indianapolis Art League, is located along the Whit ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Indiana, United States.

Description

Number five in a series, ''Imploding Cube'' consists of a 1.5-metre cube made of

aircraft aluminium An aluminium alloy ( UK/IUPAC) or aluminum alloy ( NA; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There a ...

mounted on one of its apices. Each face of the cube points inwards to create a

cube A cube or regular hexahedron is a three-dimensional space, three-dimensional solid object in geometry, which is bounded by six congruent square (geometry), square faces, a type of polyhedron. It has twelve congruent edges and eight vertices. It i ...

- shaped

negative space In art and design, negative space or negative volume is the empty space around and between the subject(s) of an image. In graphic design this is known as white space. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, not th ...

at the centre of itself. A bearing sits underneath the apex, which stands on a pole, allowing the cube to revolve in the wind. The sculpture stands in a

reflecting pool A reflecting pool, also called a reflection pool, is a water feature found in gardens, parks and memorial sites. It usually consists of a shallow pool of water with a reflective surface, undisturbed by fountain jets. Design Reflecting pools are o ...

Acquisition

This sculpture was acquired as a permanent addition to the Art Center's ARTSPARK. A gift of Bob and Pat Anker, ''Imploding Cube'' was purchased from Shidoni Gallery and Foundry in

Tesuque, New Mexico Tesuque (; ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It is part of the Santa Fe, New Mexico, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,094 at the 2020 census. The area is separate from but ...

, in the winter of 2002.

About the artist

Simms was born in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, and is a self-taught artist. Most of his work involves the use of

geometric Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

forms such as

circle A circle is a shape consisting of all point (geometry), points in a plane (mathematics), plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the Centre (geometry), centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is cal ...

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...

s and

rectangle In Euclidean geometry, Euclidean plane geometry, a rectangle is a Rectilinear polygon, rectilinear convex polygon or a quadrilateral with four right angles. It can also be defined as: an equiangular quadrilateral, since equiangular means that a ...

s. Simms generally creates a

maquette A ''maquette'' is a scale model or rough draft of an unfinished sculpture or work of architecture. The term is a loanword from French. An equivalent term is ''bozzetto'', a diminutive of the Italian word for a sketch. Sculpture A maquette ...

which can often weigh upwards of fifty pounds. Influenced by

Euclidean geometry Euclidean geometry is a mathematical system attributed to ancient Greek mathematics, Greek mathematician Euclid, which he described in his textbook on geometry, ''Euclid's Elements, Elements''. Euclid's approach consists in assuming a small set ...

, his larger works are created from aluminum or steel, with smaller and medium-sized works being created out of copper,

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

. A finish is usually placed upon the sculptures to add texture and color. Simms has exhibited work at the Grand Teton Music Festival and other regional

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

events and his artwork is also seen in permanent collections of the

Science Museum Oklahoma Science Museum Oklahoma is a science museum located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The museum features several notable attractions, including the new Love's Planetarium, the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, and various specialized galleries. W ...

, the

Bellevue Downtown Park Bellevue Downtown Park is a park located in downtown Bellevue, Washington, United States, a suburb of Seattle. The park consists of a circular ring with a large central greenspace that is surrounded by a moat and walking trails. It is situated b ...

Hudson Gardens The Hudson Gardens & Event Center is a botanical garden and event venue located in Littleton, Colorado, 12 miles southwest of Denver. The property is composed of thirty acres of garden exhibits, trails, natural terrain, and event venues. The gar ...

, among others. Simms lives and works in

Jackson, Wyoming Jackson is a resort town in Teton County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 10,760 at the 2020 census, up from 9,577 in 2010. It is Teton County's only incorporated municipality and county seat, and it is the largest incorporated town ...

, where he is represented by Diehl Gallery.

References

External links

''Imploding Cube''
from the

International Sculpture Center The International Sculpture Center (ISC) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1960 by Elden Tefft and James A. Sterritt at the University of Kansas. It is currently located at Grounds For Sculpture (the former the New Jersey Fairground) i ...

''Imploding Cube''
video showing the artwork in motion {{IACartworks Indianapolis Art Center artworks Cubic sculpture Outdoor sculptures in Indianapolis Aluminum sculptures in Indiana 2000 sculptures