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The International Sculpture Garden (in progress)
is located at Penn's Landing, along the
Delaware River between Chestnut and Spruce
Streets
The Fairmount Park Art
Association conceived the International
Sculpture Garden in the 1960s. The garden
would display ancient and historic artworks
to demonstrate and celebrate the impact
of other cultures on the American experience.
"Each individual piece," the Art
Association noted, "should not only
be typical of that nation's heritage but
should also be of the highest quality."
The Art Association acquired and installed
the garden's sculpture collection over several
years and today continues to own and maintain
the works. Dedicated in 1976 as part of
the celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial
in Philadelphia, the waterfront site symbolizes
the international nature of the port and
the diversity of human achievement through
time.
The garden's site has
undergone several changes since its dedication.
In 1992, Venturi Scott Brown and Associates'
Columbus Monument, a 106-foot-high
obelisk, was erected at the north end. A
hotel now occupies a portion of the site's
north end, and
a new plan has been created by landscape architect Margie Ruddick that will incorporate additional
land at the south end of the garden. Several
sculptures have been placed in storage and will be
reinstalled after the new garden construction is underway.
The Sculptures
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Nandi
(in storage) at the International
Sculpture Garden, Penn’s
Landing.
Photo: Howard Brunner |
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| Artist
unknown,
Nandi (c. 1500; installed 1976;
in storage).
Gray micaceous granite, on
granite base.
Height 6'; width 3'6"; length
8'6"
From Madras, India
Photo: Howard Brunner
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name Nandi, which means "happiness,"
designates the sacred bull belonging to Shiva,
the Hindu god of creative power. In traditional
Indian sculpture Shiva is often shown mounted
on or leaning against the animal. As a symbol
of Shiva, the Nandi represents power, virility,
joy, and delight, as well as a controlled
potential for destructiveness. When carved
as a free-standing figure, the Nandi is always
shown in a resting position that emphasizes
the calmer aspect of its power. Nandi images
are found in abundance at Shiva temples. Royal
patrons often vied with one another for the
honor of creating the most massive Nandi figure.
The largest examples in India are twice the
size of the 6', 7.5 ton Nandi in the Sculpture
Garden. This Nandi, however, is the largest
ever to leave India. In 1969 the Art Association
purchased it with the cooperation of the Indian
government and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The work was rededicated in 1997 in honor
of the 50th anniversary of India's independence. |
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| Artists
unknown,
Five Water Spouts, Frog, and Lintel
(12th - 13th century; installed 1976).
Volcanic stone
Height: Tiger 3'4"; Makara 3'1";
Ram 3'3"; Makara 3'2"; Elephant
3'2"; Frog 2';
Width: Lintel 2'4 1/2"
From Java, Indonesia
Photo: Howard Brunner
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As long ago as the eighth
century, temples expressing Hindu and Buddhist
religious beliefs appeared on the Indonesian
islands of Java and Sumatra. Many of the
temple sites in eastern Java had pools for
ritual bathing where the water flowed through
carved stone spouts. In 1979 the Fairmount
Park Art Association acquired five of these
spouts as well as a frog figure and a lintel,
and the Mabel Pew Myrin Trust supported
their installation at the Sculpture Garden.
Three of the spouts resemble
a tiger, a ram, and an elephant. Two are
makaras, mythical creatures that
appear in Indian and Indonesian art. The
overhead lintel shows a kala, which
was thought to be both a ferocious and a
protective force: a visitor who passed through
a kala gateway was symbolically devoured
and reborn.
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