Public Art in D.C. #4

While walking to a Washington Wizards game recently, along the way we spotted an eerie work of art outside the Smithsonian American Art Museum. 

Seeing the sculpture in the nighttime and seeing it illuminated from below added to the eerie effect.  

Later, we learned more about the sculpture.  It is called Modern Head and was created by Roy Lichtenstein, a leader in the Pop Art movement in the U.S. and one of Greg's favorite American artists.  

The sculpture is very tall, more than 30 feet high, and it is made from stainless steel that has been painted blue.  

According to the Smithsonian, Roy Lichtenstein created the first edition of Modern Head in 1974.  It was made from wood and painted blue.  In 1989, he produced  four more editions in unpainted stainless steel.  Later, Lichtenstein painted one of the editions a vibrant blue color.  That edition is the one pictured above.  

A Smithsonian curator wrote:  "Silhouetted against the urban skyline, the flat planes and curvilinear geometric forms of the sculpture blend the streamlined industrial style of 1930s art deco architecture and design with references to Picasso and Apollo, the Greek god of the arts."

Previously, in 1996, the sculpture was installed in Battery Park in Lower Manhattan about a block away from the World Trade Center twin towers.  (You can view of photo here.)  When the towers were destroyed in 2001, the sculpture was far enough away to escape damage, but it was close enough that the FBI used the sculpture as a message board following the nearby destruction.    

The sculpture was eventually removed and later moved to its present location in D.C.

Who knew?