Banquet

Ibram Lassaw, Banquet, 1961, bronze, 32 x 38 x 25 in. (81.2 x 96.4 x 63.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Harold Tager, Jr., 1975.48

Artwork Details

Title
Banquet
Artist
Date
1961
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
32 x 38 x 25 in. (81.2 x 96.4 x 63.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Harold Tager, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
bronze
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
1975.48
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1975.48

Artwork Description

Banquet is built up of thousands of droplets of metal melted over thin rods that are joined by crumpled sheets of copper. The subtle variations in color come from alloys (phosphor bronze, silicon bronze, nickel-silver) and other metals that Lassaw treated with chemicals. The nubbly surface records a process of accretion that resembles stalagmites in underground caves or underwater coral structures that grow over time. Banquet reflects Lassaw’s belief that the universe is holistic—that cosmic and microcosmic, spirit and substance are one.

Modern Masters: Midcentury Abstraction from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2008