Wednesday, April 21, 2010

A Taste of the Avant-garde

Triad


It lounges outside the entrance leading into the Academic Center and Snowden Library; Lycoming College’s only open-air piece of art. According to the Lycoming College Magazine (Summer 2009) this mammoth sculpture has existed without an identification plate for nearly thirty years now.


squirrel4


The “Triad” was conceived by Tony Rogers at the end of the spring semester of 1980 as his senior honors project. Rogers told the Lycoming College Magazine: “The name comes from the three ribbon-shaped forms that make up the piece. The transition of the three forms wasn’t a deliberate intent at the onset; it was something I discovered as the piece was being created and the name happened upon that discovery.”


here i am

squirrel


The location of the “Triad” placed restrictions on its size, shape, and interaction with viewers, although according to Rogers, “The sculpture itself is restricted by the imagination of the viewer.”


Chillaxin Squirrel


And today, whether you pass by this piece and think it looks like a “snail,” or reminds you of an “ear,” or it is the first time you even took notice, “Wow, what in the world? I do not remember seeing that before!” Keep in mind that those are exactly the responses Rogers wished to garner from his unorthodox creation; thirty years later and still open to interpretation.


triad 2