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Campus Sculpture Tour Steven Haas
SCATTERED FLIGHT , 1999 Scattered Flight marks the west stairway of Noyce Science Center with slight, slender arcs. Artist Steven Haas’ integrated mobile, a delicate aluminum construction reminiscent of feathers, stretches across the open space of the stairway. The individual fingers of the mobile move independently, dipping down at times, folding in on themselves at others. Scattered Flight shifts constantly, but only just barely, its movements always graceful, scarce. As its title states, the flight of this construction is indeed scattered—the sense of full movement momentarily interrupted, but continuing on in small echoes in its individual components. Haas presents vestiges of flight, the simplified remains of structure that suggest birds, feathers, bones. For Haas, this cleanness of form and concept take precedence in his art. “I don’t go real esoteric,” he said. “My work is in designs. I’m not Michelangelo. If it pleases me, I go with it” (“Art in Motion”). And design indeed drives his work: he builds mobiles out of simple shapes that complicate themselves on site. As Haas himself describes, his integrated mobile “moves, throws shadows, and reflects light” (artist statement). It is in these interactions with the surrounding space that Haas’ mobiles succeed. Here they scatter the space, as they suggest flight.Work Cited: About the Artist: Steven Haas’ sculptural work began with an interest in metallurgy in high school, and has progressed over 30 years toward a mastery of his tools and trade. In fact, over the course of his career, he has even created tools unique to him, including one object he refers to as his “secret tool,” which determines the point of balance on a vertical surface (“Art in Motion”). His mobiles and sculptures are in corporate, public, and private collections across North America and Europe. Essay by Christine Hancock ‘06
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| last updated 5/25/06 | Copyright © 2006 Grinnell College Grinnell, Iowa 50112 | 641-269-4660 |
