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Thermopylae (sculpture)

Coordinates: 42°21′39.3″N 71°3′35.2″W / 42.360917°N 71.059778°W / 42.360917; -71.059778
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Thermopylae
The sculpture at night in 2019
Map
ArtistDimitri Hadzi
Year1966 (1966)
MediumBronze sculpture
LocationBoston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Coordinates42°21′39.3″N 71°3′35.2″W / 42.360917°N 71.059778°W / 42.360917; -71.059778

Thermopylae is a 1966 bronze sculpture by Dimitri Hadzi, installed at Boston City Hall Plaza near the John F. Kennedy Federal Building, in Boston's Government Center, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts.

Description

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The abstract sculpture is approximately 12 ft. tall and 16 ft. wide, and weighs 2.5 tons.[1] It was commissioned by the commissioned by the General Services Administration and commemorates John F. Kennedy. A plaque reads:

"THERMOPYLAE" / DIMITRI HADZI, SCULPTOR / "THERMOPYLAE", WHICH IS A 12-FOOT HIGH, 2-1/2 TON BRONZE SCULPTURE, WAS INSPIRED, / "PROFILES IN COURAGE" AND THE BRILLIANT WAR RECORD OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY, / IT IS NAMED AFTER THE GREEK BATTLE WHERE THE SPARTANS, IN A DISPLAY OF GREAT / COURAGE, FOUGHT THE PERSIANS TO THE LAST MAN. / THOROUGHLY SYMBOLIC IN ITS ABSTRACT SHAPES, BASICALLY ORGANIC IN FORM, THE HEAVY / FORMS CONTRAST WITH THIN, SOLID WITH OPEN, VERTICAL WITH HORIZONTAL, AND ROUND / WITH ANGULAR. THROUGH THE EFFECT OF THE SUN, RAIN, AND SNOW ON THE SCULPTURE, / THE VIEWER IS PROVIDED WITH EVER CHANGING VISUAL AND EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES.[1]

The sculpture was surveyed by the Smithsonian Institution's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in 1997.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Thermopylae, (sculpture)". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
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