Artwork Details
- Title
- World Park: Orders and Perspectives
- Artist
- Ned Smyth (b. 1948)
- Year
- 1995
- Medium
- Marble and glass mosaic, stones from three U.S. rivers
- Dimensions
- Length 50′; width 60′
Artwork Description
Ned Smyth’s World Park: Orders and Perspectives is a sculptural environment, rich in symbolism and references to Greek, Egyptian, and Byzantine architecture. The artwork features an arcade of concrete and aggregate columns within a perimeter of trees, creating the sense of a room within a room. According to Smyth, the piece “creates a unique ‘place’ – an outdoor room – for passersby to enter into, reflect upon, and enjoy.” Within the columns is an abstracted mosaic globe of the world, which represents culture, and a gold-painted mosaic cone, which represents nature and energy. Smyth’s work frequently includes architectural references to history.
World Park was commissioned by Marriott International, Inc. in cooperation with the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority’s Percent for Art Program. The artist was selected for the commission from a 1993 invited competition.
In 2025, World Park was fenced off by Marriott, making the artwork inaccessible to the general public.
Artwork Credits
Commissioned by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority
Owned by the property owner