The New World
Artist
Tom Otterness
Year1991
Classification
architectural arts
Medium
concrete, bronze, brass and stainless steel
Dimensionsvariable
Credits
Commissioned through the Art in Architecture Program
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
- Otterness' round, boisterous sculpted forms are key features of the central plaza area of the Federal Building. The two components of the artist's work include a circular fountain and a sculptural frieze, with strong visual and thematic connections unifying the plaza. Nestled at the center of the fountain is a reclining bronze infant, who appears to float on a cloud of mist and holds aloft a bronze globe. The figurative composition of the frieze focuses on the infant, whose presence portends the need within society for continual rebirth and renewal through truth, freedom and democracy. Otterness' cast concrete characters narrate the struggle for freedom, beginning with Paradise and ending with Judgement. In between these polarities, the figures work, carry spheres and cylinders, and battle with each other.