|
      
|
|
 |
|||
Law Firms | Corporate Offices | Associations | Lobbies |
|||
|
Life Technologies Rockville, MD 2000 Science and Art Together |
||
_______________________________________________ Artists Circle Fine Art commissions dozens of artwork in any given year, but there was something inspiring about the commissioning of “Benchmarks”, by sculptor Larry Kirkland for Life Technologies International’s (LTI) world headquarters. Together, LTI and Artists Circle Fine Art had already made most of the artwork decisions for the new three building complex when it came time to address the atrium. This last and most dramatic space demanded a stunning answer that fit the soaring physical height and lofty, philosophy of the science research wing. LTI’s president, Stark Thompson, after our first presentation, drew from a pool of thirty renowned artists, and not long after Larry Kirkland was awarded the commission.
A truly collaborative commission, our hats go off to all involved for showing that science and the humanities can advance together. |
|||
|
|||
Soon Larry was locked in intense interviews with scientists, administrators, and board members to understand all he could of what made this company tick. The artist wished to create a piece that captured the essence of LTI. The resulting etched aluminum panel and cast bronze wall sculpture provided such stimulation and such a point of pride for the firm that it ultimately became an element in lease negotiations when LTI later moved to a different facility. With elements of all the sciences present, “Benchmarks” included in its 30 x 20 feet: a computer mouse attempting to navigate a maze; a series of Darwinian finches showing genes at work in convergent evolutions; genes splitting, hearts pulsing, and pick axes swinging; money drops into a piggy bank; a freestanding globe sits high above on a window ledge and the score of “Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to work we go” slowly scrolls across the bottom of the piece. Even a secretly coded puzzle was hidden in the piece, taking the resident scientists weeks to solve.
|
