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Lyman Allyn Art Museum new home of monumental sculpture
Star and Sea by Allyson Holtz
Star and Sea by Allyson Holtz
Lyman Allyn Art Museum is very pleased to announce that the monumental sculpture Star and Sea, designed by artist and Connecticut native Allyson Holtz, will be moved to its new home on the front lawn of the museum on October 23, 2008.
Built in 1981, the 25’ x 12’ x 12’, eight ton Cor-ten steel sculpture will be relocated from the parklet adjacent to the Water St. parking garage to make way for the renovated Parade Plaza. The sculpture, fabricated by the former Thames Valley Steel Co, was the Company’s gift to the City of New London.
The monumental sculpture Star and Sea is a site-specific work that Holtz created to reflect the rich history and character of New London. She comments, “Because its harbor was considered the best deep water harbor on Long Island Sound, the city became a base of American Naval operations during the Revolutionary War. Then, in the 19th century, it grew to be the second busiest whaling port in the world. The original location of the sculpture - overlooking the Thames River and beyond it, Long Island Sound - points to the significance of water, the sea, submarines, and sailing ships.”
Holtz explains her design was inspired by nautical instruments: “I connected to nautical instruments of measurement: the quadrant and the sextant. The triangularity of the instruments and the shapes of sails were my visual starting points. These instruments were the vital guides directing mariners from New London to all parts of the globe and back. With troops from this region serving on many different fronts overseas, I see the work as an ‘emblem of safe return’ and as important now as it was to the early travelers.”
The artist continues, “I envisioned Star and Sea as a metaphorical instrument, projecting imaginary lines through time and space; connecting the City to its history, anchoring it to its present and projecting it into its future.”
The late George Plimpton, actor, author, and editor-in-chief of the Paris Review, dedicated the sculpture during New London’s 1981 Sailfest. At the dedication, Plimpton said he envied sculptors because they “can produce vast pieces of lasting work” and went on to say that Star and Sea “has caught the spirit and technology of the harbor.”
Lyman Allyn Art Museum is pleased to be the repository of this sculpture, on long-term loan from the City of New London. A dedication ceremony will be held in the Spring of 2009.
Allyson Holtz is a third generation Connecticut artist who currently resides and works in Pittsburgh, PA. Following studies at The Hartford Art School, Holtz trained as a structural welder at General Dynamic’s Electric Boat Division and went into the Groton shipyard as a nuclear submarines fabricator. Her interest in this intense hands-on experience led her to studies in the History of American Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a graduate degree from Wesleyan University.
For more information or to request images, please contact Susan Hendricks at 860.443.2545, ext 130 or at hendricks@lymanallyn.org.
Built in 1981, the 25’ x 12’ x 12’, eight ton Cor-ten steel sculpture will be relocated from the parklet adjacent to the Water St. parking garage to make way for the renovated Parade Plaza. The sculpture, fabricated by the former Thames Valley Steel Co, was the Company’s gift to the City of New London.
The monumental sculpture Star and Sea is a site-specific work that Holtz created to reflect the rich history and character of New London. She comments, “Because its harbor was considered the best deep water harbor on Long Island Sound, the city became a base of American Naval operations during the Revolutionary War. Then, in the 19th century, it grew to be the second busiest whaling port in the world. The original location of the sculpture - overlooking the Thames River and beyond it, Long Island Sound - points to the significance of water, the sea, submarines, and sailing ships.”
Holtz explains her design was inspired by nautical instruments: “I connected to nautical instruments of measurement: the quadrant and the sextant. The triangularity of the instruments and the shapes of sails were my visual starting points. These instruments were the vital guides directing mariners from New London to all parts of the globe and back. With troops from this region serving on many different fronts overseas, I see the work as an ‘emblem of safe return’ and as important now as it was to the early travelers.”
The artist continues, “I envisioned Star and Sea as a metaphorical instrument, projecting imaginary lines through time and space; connecting the City to its history, anchoring it to its present and projecting it into its future.”
The late George Plimpton, actor, author, and editor-in-chief of the Paris Review, dedicated the sculpture during New London’s 1981 Sailfest. At the dedication, Plimpton said he envied sculptors because they “can produce vast pieces of lasting work” and went on to say that Star and Sea “has caught the spirit and technology of the harbor.”
Lyman Allyn Art Museum is pleased to be the repository of this sculpture, on long-term loan from the City of New London. A dedication ceremony will be held in the Spring of 2009.
Allyson Holtz is a third generation Connecticut artist who currently resides and works in Pittsburgh, PA. Following studies at The Hartford Art School, Holtz trained as a structural welder at General Dynamic’s Electric Boat Division and went into the Groton shipyard as a nuclear submarines fabricator. Her interest in this intense hands-on experience led her to studies in the History of American Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a graduate degree from Wesleyan University.
For more information or to request images, please contact Susan Hendricks at 860.443.2545, ext 130 or at hendricks@lymanallyn.org.
For general information, please email us at info@lymanallyn.org