A Comma, A, 2004. Copper, international language texts, light, black granite paving inlay
6’x26’x80. Plaza in front of the new library, University of Houston, Houston, TX
Jim Sanborn’s sculptures grace the landscapes of a number of universities, museums and government buildings. From outside the C.I.A. headquarters in Langley, VA to the front entrance of the University of Houston library Sanborn’s works entice the passerby to engage.
Rippawam, 1999. Rolled copper, Native American texts with English translation
Size: 6’x26’x4′. University of Connecticut, Stamford, CT
Whether it is his series of lighted installations that have featured Native American, Latin and “international language” texts splattered all over the surrounding space or his series of encoded text sculptures it’s hard
not to be both engaged and challenged.
not to be both engaged and challenged.
Antipodes, 1997. Copper, encoded text, petrified tree. 11’x6’x3′. Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC
Don’t you want to know what it says?
Kryptos, 1989. Granite, quartz, lodestone, copper, encoded text, water. 12’x20’x10′
Courtyard plaza, Central Intelligence Agency; Langley, Virginia
And the brilliance of the placement of the piece above should not go unnoticed.
Jim Sanborn: The Artist’s Official Site:
h/t my modern met