Artwork Details
- Title
- Wave Forms
- Artist
- Dennis Oppenheim (1938 – 2011)
- Year
- 2007
- Location
- 3401 Chestnut Street
- Medium
- Aluminum, Aluminum Mesh, Landscape, on granite base
- Dimensions
- Each Bell: 22′ X 22′ X 22′ Overall Height: 34′ on 20,000 Sq. Foot Courtyard
Artwork Description
Three bell-like aluminum sculptures clustered together and rising as high as 34 feet tall serve as an entrance way on the University of Pennsylvania Campus at 34th and Chestnut Streets. A sound wave pattern featured in granite is installed under the bells, and the design of the artwork allows viewers to walk under and through the architectural feature.
Another three bell cluster installed in a nearby courtyard appears to be swinging as each 22′ x 22′ x 22′ bell leans against the other interwoven with vines and surrounded by plants.
Artist and creator of Wave Forms, Dennis Oppenheim, stated that “by taking the visual configuration found in sound waves to structure the plaza garden, I could detour from the more obvious associations brought forth by the Liberty Bell, Philadelphia’s most famous image. By increasing the scale of the bells to approximate architecture, I was able to disturb the association of the bell as ‘object’ to bell as ‘dwelling’.”
Artwork Credits
Commissioned by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority
Owned by the property owner