Sir Isaac Julien’s moving image installation "Lessons of the Hour" interweaves period reenactments across five screens to create a vivid picture of nineteenth-century activist, writer, orator, and philosopher Frederick Douglass.
The French word chandelle means "candle," and this sculpture, although not strictly representational, evokes the form of a flickering flame. The title of the work may also reflect John Safer's knowledge of aviation, gained from his experience in the US Air Force. A chandelle is an aircraft maneuver in which the pilot combines a 180-degree turn with a sudden climb. Viewed from the side, Chandelle's form captures the elegant motion of this movement. "What I see and try to capture," the artist has said, "is the movement of beauty. I try to freeze a line of a motion that expresses strength, power, or grace. . . . I try to grasp and make permanent something ephemeral."
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The French word chandelle means "candle," and this sculpture, although not strictly representational, evokes the form of a flickering flame. As the viewer walks by the piece the changing shape of a flame can be imagined in the reflections of light in the polished black Lucite and through the sculpture's deceptively tapering form. The title of this work may also indicate John Safer's knowledge of aviation gained in the Air Force. A chandelle is an aircraft control maneuver in which the pilot combines a 180-degree turn with a sudden climb. Viewed from the side, Chandelle's form appears to capture the essential movement of this maneuver.
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John Safer, Chandelle, 1969, revised 2013, Lucite, 77 in. (195.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2007.23
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