Visualizing the Universe

Visualizing the Universe offers a unique insight into the complexities of public art competitions in America by focusing on one of its pioneers, Athena Tacha. The book provides a complete record of her proposals for permanent public sculpture from 1972 to 2012 – all of the texts she submitted for 139 competitions in which she was a finalist – with illustrations of every work. The book pays special attention to projects that have been developed since 2000, which include some of Tacha’s most ambitious work, notably her multiple sculptures at Wisconsin Place in Washington, D.C. and the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville. As Glenn Harper, editor of Sculpture magazine, notes in the Introduction (co-authored with Twylene Moyer): “This book is a testament to a lifetime’s worth of projects devoted to creating… public sculptural environments that translate the forms and forces of nature into abstract playgrounds for the human body and mind. … Inspired by geometric growth and generative patterning on both micro and macro levels, they reinterpret the various concerns of earthwork and Minimalism, abstraction, place-making and social interaction through a cosmic lens that sees human beings and our efforts as part of a larger system.” Contents: Introduction by Glenn Harper and Twylene Moyer; Early Proposals: 1972-80, Projects 1-25; Prodigious Activity: 1981-91, Projects 25-102; An Easing Pace: 1992-98, Projects 103-121; Major Commissions: 2000-2012, Projects 122-139
•Offers a unique insight into the complexities of public art competitions in America, featuring proposals from a world-renowned sculptor
•Doubles as a study on some of Athena Tacha’s most groundbreaking and innovative work

Visualizing the Universe offers a unique insight into the complexities of public art competitions in America by focusing on one of its pioneers, Athena Tacha. The book provides a complete record of her proposals for permanent public sculpture from 1972 to 2012 – all of the texts she submitted for 139 competitions in which she was a finalist – with illustrations of every work. The book pays special attention to projects that have been developed since 2000, which include some of Tacha’s most ambitious work, notably her multiple sculptures at Wisconsin Place in Washington, D.C. and the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville.

As Glenn Harper, editor of Sculpture magazine, notes in the Introduction (co-authored with Twylene Moyer): “This book is a testament to a lifetime’s worth of projects devoted to creating… public sculptural environments that translate the forms and forces of nature into abstract playgrounds for the human body and mind. … Inspired by geometric growth and generative patterning on both micro and macro levels, they reinterpret the various concerns of earthwork and Minimalism, abstraction, place-making and social interaction through a cosmic lens that sees human beings and our efforts as part of a larger system.”

Contents: Introduction by Glenn Harper and Twylene Moyer; Early Proposals: 1972-80, Projects 1-25; Prodigious Activity: 1981-91, Projects 25-102; An Easing Pace: 1992-98, Projects 103-121; Major Commissions: 2000-2012, Projects 122-139