you have been here sometime

(tony smith vs. tricky) presences......

"Dedicated, medicated,
They bend and break me
Overrate me
I take a small piece and make it breathe."

Smoke, 1967, fabricated 2005, LACMA

"This massive sculpture is Smoke, by artist Tony Smith. At 24 feet high and 48 feet wide, it’s one of his largest works—and the only large-scale piece conceived specifically for an interior space.

Smith’s works explore his lifelong interest in the patterns found in nature. “Smoke” is comprised of 45 extended octahedrons, or 8-sided modules, that resemble crystals. In the upper part of the sculpture, they are assembled in hexagonal formations like those found in honeycomb."

Brand new, you're retro.
Brand new, you're retro.
Brand new, you're retro.
Brand new, you're retro.

"Smith called his artworks “presences” rather than “sculptures.” Despite its geometric structure and logic, Smoke evokes a sense of openness and expansive growth. The aluminum lattice appears to rise and swell as you move through the work.

Smoke was originally constructed in 1967, for the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, DC, from painted plywood. Tony Smith died in 1980 but his wife Jane persisted in having all her husband’s designs made into permanent works of art "

"Let me take you down the corridors of my life.
And when you walk, do you walk to your preference?
No need to answer till I take further evidence.
I seem to need a reference to get residence.
I'm a good neighbor"

This permanent version of Smoke was erected here at LACMA in 2008. Yesterday's excursion to LACMA had me camped out under Tony Smith's 1967 "Smoke." Smith called his works "presences" rather than "sculptures." To feel the weight and the strength of Smith's painted aluminum in this tight, towering space makes me weak at the knees. Post apocalyptic crystalline presences.

text sourced from LACMA here..
lyrics by Tricky's "hell is around the corner"
& "brand new you're retro" more here...

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