Aluminum

Theodore Roszak was commissioned to design the bell tower for Eero Saarinen's non-denominational chapel at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.

Commissioned for Eero Saarinen Chapel, MIT.

"M.I.T. Chapel & Spire", Time Magazine, 1955.

Welded bronze and iron

27.5 x 18 x 4.5 in (69.8 x 45.7 x 11.4 cm)

New Forms in Door Ornamentation, presented by The Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co. at the Wildenstein Gallery, New York, 1956.

"Visions of Man" probes the question "What is Man?" The sculptures made from aluminum were commissioned by the Trustees of the R.S. Reynolds Memorial.

For all his conquests, man still remains a creature of awe. He feels that there is meaning beyond himself-that the question, What is man?, cannot be answered in terms of man alone.

" The upward thrust of the forms is intended as an invocation, a reverence for life, and the thinner curvilinear strands…metaphorically suggest the mantle, drape or veil which are symbolic of both honor and humility." - Theodore Roszak

1957, Longaker, Jon D., "The New Materials in a New Sculpture", Art in Richmond.

Bronze; concrete base

Administered by the City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation The Arsenal - Central Park New York New York 10021

Located Flushing Meadow-Corona Park Flushing New York

"The forward thrust of his [Theodore Roszak] Forms in Space, forty-two feet long and executed in aluminum over stainless steel, evoked the progressive development of movement, from natural means of human locomotion and the motion of aquatic and airborne creatures to the technological dynamics of the airplane, submarine, and rocket. Sited near the Hall of Science, adjacent to the Space Park, it complemented the theme of the surrounding exhibits with an appropriately metaphorical response to the concept of man's aspiration toward space travel." [Helen A. Harrison, "Art for the Millions or Art for the Market?" Remembering the Future, p.145]

Links:

The Museum of the City of New York and the Queens Museum Archival Blog Project

In association with Eero Saarinen Associates. Intended for General Motors Technical Center.

Theodore Roszak designed the fountain on the plaza between the two wings of the Science Building now called Michelson and Chauvenet halls. 

This was one of many projects Roszak worked on with architect John Carl Warnecke. 

Location: U.S. Naval Academy Fountain, Annapolis, MD. 

Photo courtesy of U.S. Naval Academy

Bronze

4 x 7 ft. diameter (121.9 x 213.3 cm)

Two identical fountains in two different locations

Collection: Commissioned through the Art in Architecture Program
Fine Arts Collection U.S. General Services Administration

Locations:

New Executive Office Building

725 17th Street NW, Washington D.C. 20006.

and

Howard T. Markey National Courts Building

717 Madison Pl., NW, Washington, DC 20005

Cast bronze plates on copper frame; Base: granite

Location: The sculpture is located at 455 First Avenue at 27th Street, next door to the Public Health Research Institute near Bellevue.

Inscription: "These sculptural forms were conceived in homage to those intrepid men and women who dedicate themselves to science and humanity. - Theodore Roszak”

Collection: The City of New York purchased the sculpture (1968) and it is in the city’s collection

Location: James L. Watson Court of International Trade Building, 1 Federal Plaza, New York, NY, 10278

Theodore Roszak received one of the earliest commissions from the General Services Administration’s Art-in-Architecture Program to make "Eagle" for the U.S. Customs Court in Foley Square, New York. Under this program, the GSA set aside one half of one percent of the construction budget for new federal buildings to purchase public works of art.

Prominent works of modern art are located throughout the Jacob Javits Federal Building & James Watson Court of International Trade, New York, NY. A Study in Five Planes/Peace (1965), a metal stabile by Alexander Calder, and the Manhattan Sentinels (1996) by Beverly Pepper, a cast-iron sculpture that celebrates human aspirations in the city, are found in outdoor public spaces. Two other significant pieces are located in CIT; Seymour Fogel's colorful geometric mosaic Metropolis (1967) is in the lobby and Eagle/Justice Above All Else (1970) by Theodore Roszak is in one of the courtrooms.

Bronze

8 x 12 feet

Collection: Erpf Family Cemetery, Arkville, New York.

Plaster

9 1/4 x 5 7/16 x 4 15/16 inches (23.5 x 13.8 x 12.5 cm) 

Collection: American Academy of Arts and Letters (1978).

John Hall Wheelock was an American poet (1886-1978).

John Hall Wheelock was elected into the Academy of Arts and Letters in 1948 and Theodore Roszak was elected in 1964.