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Edward Tufte, New York show catalog: Visual Explanations: Prints and Sculptures
This is the catalog for Edward Tufte's 2000-2001 show at Artists Space in New York City. The 8 pages show photographs of
Escaping Flatland and the cognitive art series of prints.
Escaping Flatland is a large stainless steel sculpture, consisting of two units, 12 feet high and covering an area approximately 15 x 30
feet. The total weight (entirely stainless steel) is 8,400 pounds. Each unit consists of four plates, 2.5" thick. Escaping Flatland is one of
a series of sculptures by Edward Tufte, based on ideas in his books on information architecture. Escaping Flatland reacts wonderfully to
changes in time of day, the season, and the surrounding landscape. As a consequence, the work always appears fresh and new and, at the
same time, part of the natural world. The different versions of Escaping Flatland have all been constructed to the highest standards of
metalwork by Tallix at their foundry in Beacon, New York. Installation to be arranged.
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Escaping Flatland is hand-finished, surfaced by
means of a double-action grinder. The multiple
planes of the sculpture respond intensely to changes
in light and changes in the observer's position. All
kinds of beautiful painted color fields routinely
appear, as the light reflected and refracted from the
surface endlessly responds to the weather, season,
and natural environment.
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"I like outdoor sculpture and the most practical thing for outdoor sculpture is stainless steel, and I make them
and I polish them in such a way that on a dull day, they take on the dull blue, or the color of the sky in the late
afternoon sun, the glow, golden like the rays, the colors of nature. And in a particular sense, I have used
atmosphere in a reflective way on the surfaces. They are colored by the sky and the surroundings, the green
or blue of water. Some are down by the water and some are by the mountains. They reflect the colors. They are
designed for outdoors."
DAVID SMITH, 1964
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