Psyche (The Butterfly) - Essay Example

Essay Psyche (The Butterfly) Psyche (the butterfly) is a type of art that is suspended in the knuckle area joining the old buildings to new, though, the term psyche does not refer to a butterfly in Greek, instead it means soul that inspires the connection between the organic and increased aspirations of the heart. Butterfly was indentified to be a significant symbol for civilization through a research by Donald Lipski, thereby signifying a sense of rejuvenation, reincarnation and love. The art was created through an arrangement of approximately 10,000 test tubes filled with pigmented acrylic, since they are the most basic tools of science.

The butterfly is approximately 14.5’’ wide and 10’’ high, and it is suspended allowing it to move gently in currents of HVAC, with fabricated wings that are made of steel and the section in between is stretched with mesh made of steel, hence creating a space for the suspension of the test tubes (Colorado creative industries, 1).The term psyche means soul to the ancient Greek, and the term butterfly establishes the idea of its life cycle from a caterpillar to a chrysalis and later a butterfly.

Therefore, the art was created as a symbol for the passage from life to death, and the sculpture is titled Psyche (the butterfly) by Donald Lipski. The cells of the wings are made of test tubes as tools in science, since the artist had a conviction that melding the butterfly using test tubes was inspiring and beautiful, hence making the building to be a destination. The butterfly has two sets of wings, both top wings and bottom wings, which are not entirely opened, whereby the bottom wings are slightly wider, while top wings are 8’ across, and bottom wing 6’ across.

The butterfly hangs at an angle of 60 degree, whereby it suspends and moves along with the air currents of HVAC, while its framework comprise of ideas that the black areas are veins of the wins of a monarch butterfly. The sculpture is fabricated using laser cut steel, and the sections between the stretches contains grids made of stainless, where the test tubes are suspended filled with a pigmented acrylic of transparent orange. The idea of creating this sculpture began with Art in Public Place Act, which was a statue passed in 1977, whereby one percent of the cost incurred in construction of new or renovated building owned by the state was to be appropriated for public artwork.

Therefore, construction of the new Auraria Science Building led to creation of this sculpture during the summer of 2008, whereby the director of Art in Public Places at Colorado Council of the Arts, Jil Rosentrater decided to assemble a committee to commence the project. Eight member of the committee, were selected, and two of the member include member of each institution. The committee was to review the application received from 184 artists across the nation, and there were five semi-finalists selected and displayed at Auraria Library.

The students, staff and faculty were given an opportunity to provide feedback, and receiving the input from the community through an exhibition in the library the selection committee voted to install Psyche as the artwork. Works CitedColorado creative industries. Auraria Campus of Higher Education Science Building Renovation and Addition. Available at: http://www.coloarts.state.co.us/programs/public/projects/popup/auraria.html [Accessed on October 9 2012]