Skip to main content

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Advanced Search
The New World by Tom Otterness
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography
The New World
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography

The New World

Artist
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
Location
  • 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.