|
|
|
||||
|
|||||
|
MAX'S MINARETS |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
The University of New Mexico and New Mexico Arts commissioned Hank Saxe and Cynthia Patterson to create this monumental artwork marking the entrance to the UNM Taos Campus. |
|||||
|
|
|||||
| This sculpture, titled Max's Minarets, is a cluster of 6 obelisks covering an area of 600 square feet. The columns are constructed of cast concrete clad with high fire stoneware tile. Thousands of textured tiles cast in dozens of shapes are glazed in a wide variety of colors. The resulting mosaic responds to the landscape and changing light conditions at the campus. A major challenge of the commission was to create a distinctive marker that fit within the surrounding expansive vistas. | |||||
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|||||
|
The Minarets are oriented along sight lines to prominent mountain peaks on the skyline. Saxe, Patterson, and employees performed all aspects of the installation including forming and pouring concrete at the site and producing and setting the ceramic tile. The individual tapered columns are from 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 feet square at the base and extend from 11 to 16 feet in height. Work was completed in 1997. |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
HANK
SAXE SCULPTURE |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|||
|
Often of ambiguous scale, these pieces range in size from 2" x
2" to 30" in height. Constructed of stoneware and porcelain,
pieces are high-fired with colored, textured surfaces derived from
glazes and colored clays. Some of the pieces are fired in a traditional
Japanese hill-climbing, wood-fired, Anagama kiln. |
|||||
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|||||
|
Flowers
for Our Lady of Guadalupe |
|||||
|
|
|||||
| Decorative tilings and Spanish inscription commissioned for the altar at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Taos, New Mexico. The high fire geometric tile pattern is an abstract representation of the rose blossoms manifested by Our Lady of Guadalupe, an image important to the parishioners of Taos. This idea was then refined into an abstract format suited for realization in our materials, working closely with a committee from the parish to finalize the design. The geometric tile area is 6 feet x 10 feet. Tile modules are 3" on a side. The stair riser lettering is applied to ceramic tile with colored underglazes with a clear glaze over. | |||||
|
|
|||||
|
LADDER/SHADOW/LIGHT |
|||||
|
|
|
|
|||
|
A Penrose tile mosaic created for the 2-story atrium of the
Library/Adult Education Building, University of New Mexico, Los Alamos
Campus. The tiling, which is applied to several surfaces of the cast
concrete building, evokes sunlight spilling into the space and washing
down the walls, illuminating the area as if the first rays of dawn were
penetrating through the skylight. A dark lattice of tiles occurring
within the pattern indicates a symbolic "ladder" set against
the sky blue tile shot through with the dawn colors of yellows and
roses. The ladder represents advancement and inspiration that are
fostered within an educational environment. For
centuries, the Native American kiva has been the site of the passing of
knowledge on the Pajarito Plateau (the location of this building) and in
the nearby Rio Grande Valley. Kivas are entered using ladders through an
opening in the roof. The ladder is also a symbol of the American/European library and used as an "information retrieval device". The intricacy of this Penrose tiling offers the potential for the viewer to recognize new elements and systems of organization each time it is studied. There is a continuing opportunity for users of the building to learn and develop a relationship with the artwork as they discover its complexities. Commissioned by the Art in Public Places Program of New Mexico Arts. |
|||||
|
|
|||||
