For this week's assignment, we had to analyze a "thing" on the Penn campus, and - as I discussed before - I choose the LOVE sculpture on Locust Walk. As I said in my earlier post, I choose it as my subject because it’s one of the staples of Penn’s campus and of the city where we live, Philadelphia.
This structure is a sculpture displaying the letters LO over VE, and was originally designed as the front of a Christmas card for the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) by Robert Indiana. It is a three dimensional model of the word "love"in capital letters and is painted bright red on the front, back and sides and blue and green on the inside. I analyzed this sculpture over three (and a half) length scales:
The sculpture
this is how most of us see the statue, a big body displaying the message "love". On this scale it's roughly 2m (h) x 2m (w) x .5m (d); and is made of poly-chromed red, green and blue aluminum. So this length scale is around two meters). This statue can be compared to the patterns made by rubber inkstamps, as the typeset is reminiscent of that typically used for this purpose, looking as though someone had messed up the letter "o". It also reminded me of a box of chocolates, but mostly (because of the bright color) likening it to the human body it brought to mind the human heart. The statue is located in the center of campus, next to undergraduate admissions, close to the quad and Van Pelt library and right on Locust walk. Its in the middle of everything and is connected to all of campus through the "vascular system"of streets: it's the heart of penn that has the message love imprinted on it.
this is how most of us see the statue, a big body displaying the message "love". On this scale it's roughly 2m (h) x 2m (w) x .5m (d); and is made of poly-chromed red, green and blue aluminum. So this length scale is around two meters). This statue can be compared to the patterns made by rubber inkstamps, as the typeset is reminiscent of that typically used for this purpose, looking as though someone had messed up the letter "o". It also reminded me of a box of chocolates, but mostly (because of the bright color) likening it to the human body it brought to mind the human heart. The statue is located in the center of campus, next to undergraduate admissions, close to the quad and Van Pelt library and right on Locust walk. Its in the middle of everything and is connected to all of campus through the "vascular system"of streets: it's the heart of penn that has the message love imprinted on it.
The letter O
I chose to zero in on the letter O because of it peculiarity within the sculpture. It’s tilted towards the right, which might represent the imperfections of love. The scale of this magnification level is about a meter. This letter could be compared to a toroid (my fancy way of comparing it to a doughnut), because of their similar shape.
I chose to zero in on the letter O because of it peculiarity within the sculpture. It’s tilted towards the right, which might represent the imperfections of love. The scale of this magnification level is about a meter. This letter could be compared to a toroid (my fancy way of comparing it to a doughnut), because of their similar shape.
The material
This is the third level of magnification, and on this level al we see is the material the love statue is made of (poly-chromed aluminum). The material reminded me of tin cans, because it was cold to the touch and shiny.
This is the third level of magnification, and on this level al we see is the material the love statue is made of (poly-chromed aluminum). The material reminded me of tin cans, because it was cold to the touch and shiny.
The campus of brotherly love
One of the reasons I chose this sculpture was because of its relationship to Philly and Penn. Philadelphia means “city of brotherly LOVE” so I felt like this sculpture on locust walk represented the campus of brotherly love, encouraging friendship and respect among students.
One of the reasons I chose this sculpture was because of its relationship to Philly and Penn. Philadelphia means “city of brotherly LOVE” so I felt like this sculpture on locust walk represented the campus of brotherly love, encouraging friendship and respect among students.
The function of this structure is to provoke thought and promote a positive message: LOVE. It’s an accessible but complex message, and I believe that the artist succeeds in transmitting his message through all three length scales because of various reasons. In the first scale, the bright color and size of the sculpture really attract your attention and have you wonder why the statue would be there. Upon closer inspection, the slanted O draws your eye in and makes you keep it on your mind. And the material of which it is made complies with its function by making it sturdy and durable in the Philadelphia weather. Therefore, it represents Philadelphia because of the etymological meaning of the cities’ name, causing you to really see and think, and not just look - like this assignment wanted us to do.
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