'Meet the Artist' Alice Aycock at Central Broward Regional Park


10/16/2008 2:25:56 PM


Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at the Field House Hall

BROWARD COUNTY, FL – The Broward Cultural Division’s Public Art and Design Program invites members of the community to attend a presentation to learn about its latest artwork installation, Whirls and Swirls and a Vortex on Water at the Central Broward Regional Park, by artist Alice Aycock. The education outreach will be held on Wednesday, October 29, 2008, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m., at the Field House Hall, Central Broward Regional Park, 3700 N.W. 11th Place in Lauderhill (corner of Sunrise Blvd. & 441).

Commissioned in 2004 to design a water feature artwork at the State Rd. 7 entrance of Central Broward Regional Park, artist Alice Aycock will share information about the artwork and discuss its creation and fabrication.

Aycock, known worldwide for her large, semi-architectural industrial sculptures, has produced a significant public artwork for Broward County’s Public Art and Design Program. Whirls and Swirls and a Vortex on Water, a sculpture of metal, steel, concrete and acrylic, measures approximately 34’ wide and 17’ tall and hovers slightly above water in a 30’ x 21’ elliptical-shaped pool. Massive metal ribbons up to 20’ long, spiral around an acrylic sphere that has an internal sculptural element alongside a 16’ metal vortex that delves below the water’s surface. This artwork is designed to generate a realm of wonder and curiosity; to be theatrical, poetic, delightful and magical. Integrating, nature, science, art and technology, its normal composition refers to the dynamic and tumultuous weather patterns in South Florida and the gravitational forces present on the earth and throughout the solar system, illustrating the expanding universe and underwater marine life.

Aycock’s work is found in major collections throughout the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; the Kunstmuseum in Basel, Switzerland, and the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart, Germany. She has continuously worked on outdoor pieces and installations, having completed a number of public commissions, including the first public art commission in Nashville, TN, a riverfront sculpture, “Ghost Ballet for the East Bank Machineworks (2005-2008). Visit the website of Alice Aycock at www.aaycock.com.

Aycock has received numerous awards including four National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships.
The MIT Press published the artist’s first hardcover monograph in 2005, entitled Alice Aycock, Sculpture and Projects, authored by Robert Hobbs. She has been a member of the New York City Arts Commission since 2003 and has also been appointed to the GSA’s National Register of Peer Professionals. She has taught at numerous colleges and universities including Yale University (1988-92) and as the Director of Graduate Sculpture Studies (1991-92). She has taught at the School of Visual Arts since 1991.

For further details on the project, contact Grace Kewl-Durfey, Arts Management Specialist at 954-357-7869 or e-mail gkewl@broward.org. The telephone number for Central Broward Regional Park is 954-321-1170.


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