Joy on the Wing K.O. RINEARSON
By Kent Anderson
An iconic piece by a world-famous sculptor anchors Edmond’s breathtaking Armstrong Auditorium.
W
K.O. RINEARSON
hen the new Armstrong Auditorium in Edmond officially opened in September, it heralded not only the unveiling of a dazzling performance venue for Oklahoma, but also the reawakening of a piece by one of the world’s greatest living sculptors. “Swans in Flight,” a bronze by British sculptor Sir David Wynne, has been reinstalled on the Grand Mall leading to the auditorium, the latest chapter in an artistic odyssey more than four decades long. Wynne, whose sculptures appear worldwide and whose body of work includes several commissions from Britain’s royal family, created “Swans in Flight” in the 1960s. The bronze depicts five swans in various stages of flight, and is now at home in a 120-footlong reflecting pool surrounded by six fountains. “It is an iconic piece,” says Shane Granger, marketing director for Armstrong Auditorium. “The water cascading over the birds gives a sense of motion, that they are in flight. It’s very inspiring.” That inspiration arose in the mid-’60s when Herbert W. Armstrong, namesake of Armstrong College and Auditorium, traveled to London. He had founded college campuses in California, Texas and England, and was seeking original pieces of art to serve as signatures for the campuses. While meeting with an associate in London, he noticed a small piece and asked about the sculptor. The associate gave him the name of David Wynne. A meeting was arranged, and Armstrong commissioned Wynne to create a piece for the Ambassador College campus in Pasadena, California. When the sculptor asked Armstrong what he wanted the piece to be, Armstrong told him he wanted it to be about prayer.
november 2010 | slice
103