Prometheus98876 Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 I recently found out about what I consider to be a pretty wonderful peice of art that AT&T have put up in their Dallas headquarters ( apparently it used to adorn one of their other buildings on Broadway NY). Thanks for bringing this to my attention Old Toad "Golden Boy" or "The Spirit of Communication," is about 28-feet high, "soaring bronze statue of a winged man clinching lightning bolts with a raised arm" ( as phrased by a recent Dallas News article). Some are also calling it the "Genius of Electricity", which I think is rather fitting . The statue was sculpted in 1916 by artist Evelyn Beatrice Longman. I trust some / a lot of you will really like this, so here you are: And here is the news article I found out about this from: http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/archive...bronze-stu.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lonely Rationalist Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 My God, that's beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissLemon Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Very nice! Is that supposed to be electric cables encircling him with one end, the one in his right hand, kind of unravelling? Interesting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'kian Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Is that supposed to be electric cables encircling him with one end, the one in his right hand, kind of unravelling? Interesting... I should think it's telephone cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tito Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 It was originally called Genius of Electricity, and was owned by Western Electric. So arguably they are electric cables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eficazpensador Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 "Golden Boy" is my favorite sculpture. Here are some more pics: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prometheus98876 Posted July 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 Yes I am sure those are meant to be electric cables if I remember what I have read about it so far. I had forgotten at the time that the other name I provided for it was its original name...oopps! I think its a better name, though perhaps less fitting for a statue in the foyer of a telecommunications company. Thanks for the enlarged shots eficazpensador. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cello Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 That is the best sculpture I have ever seen. Wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake_Ellison Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 I'm having a tough time enjoying those wings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prometheus98876 Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I dont see what is wrong with the wings, they seem reasonably well done ( not quite symetrical from the angle of the original picture perhaps...) to me and seem to help create the desired effect... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grames Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I don't like the wings either. They are hopelessly platonic and invoke angels. They state electricity is a gift from God. Aside from the wings the statue is good, and very golden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prometheus98876 Posted July 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 They do not do that for me. They might be meant to be "platonic" and to "invoke angels" as you suggest...however I do not think so. I think it is more to do why the guy in the picture below has wings: http://www.learnoutloud.com/images/new_pro...nifesto-Big.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-Mac Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 I think it would suck without the wings. The wings, for me, represent man's upward and forward movement. Striving for better and better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tito Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 I don't like the wings either. They are hopelessly platonic and invoke angels. They state electricity is a gift from God. Aside from the wings the statue is good, and very golden. Did calling the main character of Anthem "Prometheus", invoke mysticism? Did the Atlas Shrugged references to Atlantis imply some sort of conspiracy theory? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thales Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 It's just awesome! I think the first picture shows it best, you can't see the flaws there and the bright glow of light reflecting off of it enhances the spirit of the sculpture. It's in honor of man and his technological achievement not done in a hokey manner, which is very hard to achieve. It looks timeless. I too have reservations about the wings. I think I'd prefer it without them, but if I think of them representing upward progress as K-Mac suggests, then they aren't so bad. It represents things as they could and ought to be! Again, just awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eficazpensador Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 I think the wings are great. They're quite beautiful. I'd love this statue in the front of my house. Centered on my nicely mowed lawn. Here is one last picture just so you can see the actual size of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grames Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 They do not do that for me. They might be meant to be "platonic" and to "invoke angels" as you suggest...however I do not think so. I think it is more to do why the guy in the picture below has wings: http://www.learnoutloud.com/images/new_pro...nifesto-Big.jpg It is not the wings per se. There is a big difference, in my perception anyway, of wings which are on the arms and wings which are on the back. Prometheus crafted his own damned wings, the only way right way to fly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 It is not the wings per se. There is a big difference, in my perception anyway, of wings which are on the arms and wings which are on the back. Prometheus crafted his own damned wings, the only way right way to fly! And the man in this statue genetically altered himself to have wings in his back. Another right way to fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake_Ellison Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 I just found the picture a bit crowded, because of the wings. I can't speak about the statue, I haven't seen it live. But I do agree, those wings look like the ones Matt Damon had in Dogma, rather than Icarus's. Did Prometheus have wings? Why didn't he fly away, when he was condemned to eternal torture for bringing fire to mankind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grames Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 Did Prometheus have wings? Why didn't he fly away, when he was condemned to eternal torture for bringing fire to mankind? Prometheus, Icarus, whatever. Its all greek to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissLemon Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 I like the wings. I think they suggest that man's mastery of electricity will allow flights to great technological heights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prometheus98876 Posted July 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 Yes it is Icarus that had the wings ( but he flew too high on wings made of wax apparently and his wings melted and he fell to his death, according to the myth), and is quite different to Prometheus from a mythological point of view. I like how Kelly put it, that was pretty much what I had in mind . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capitalism Forever Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 I don't like the wings either. They are hopelessly platonic and invoke angels. Jeez, I think you've been looking at way too much Christian stuff. Platonism is absolutely the last thing that would come to my mind looking at that statue! I hope my avatar doesn't remind you of Christianity as well ... I mean, it has wings on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanite1018 Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 This is a beautiful sculpture. I think the wings add to it by invoking a sense of flying into the heavens. Even invoking the concept of an angel isn't necessarily bad, after all they are meant to help human life in various ways, are morally perfect, have immense power, and come from heaven (an ideal world). Sounds like a description of a great inventor or businessman, or John Galt. Even mystical references can be uplifting and supportive of human life. Just because it came from a mystical background doesn't mean it can't be changed to be pro-life, as in the redefinition of the feelings of exaltation, reverence, etc. in Objectivism from their corrupt religious meanings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob G Posted September 26, 2009 Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 Evelyn Beatrice Longman is a favorite of Lee Sandstead. He was writing a book on her and has done a lot of research. He has gathered a lot of photographs of her work, and especially this one, see http://www.sandstead.com/images/genius_of_..._communication/. Lee had a great series on the Travel Channel called Art Attack. Apparently, they haven't renewed it. He is traveling the country giving lectures. Look at his schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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