Dale Eldred
Dale Eldred was an internationally acclaimed sculptor renowned for large-scale sculptures that emphasized both natural and generated light.
Biography
The grandson of Finnish immigrant builders, Eldred was raised in Minnesota. Eldred moved to Kansas City in 1959, fresh out of the University of Michigan. Within a year, he was named chairman of the sculpture department of Kansas City Art Institute.Eldred possessed an imposing physical presence and was a college football fullback. He was known to be resilient in the face of challenge, such as the fire in 1991 that destroyed a studio that contained his library and many valuable artworks.
Eldred chaired the sculpture department at KCAI for 33 years, exerting a powerful influence on thousands of students, including: James Clover, Gary Freeman, Shawn Brixey, Ming Fay, Michael Rees, John E. Buck, and the collaborative couple, Kate Ericson and Mel Ziegler who met at KCAI. He also was the artistic director of Biosphere II, and was a fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Advanced Visual Studies.
Dale Eldred was a victim of the "500-year" flood in the summer of 1993, when the Missouri River inundated parts of Kansas City. He died in a fall while trying to rescue equipment in his West Bottoms-neighborhood studio.
Sculpture
Eldred's early sculptures were large works in clay. Influenced by the monumental steel sculptures of David Smith and Alexander Calder, he began to work in steel, wood and other materials, creating large sculptures and environments. Examples of these include a sculpture composed of a pair of large cantilevered slabs of wood and steel, placed near the entrance of the Kansas City Art Institute; and a park in northern Kansas City, Missouri housing a large stone and lumber environment. His work of this time was reviewed favorably by critic and artist Donald Judd.Eldred was commissioned to redesign downtown Kansas City, Kansas. His challenging modernist design included futuristic fountains, irregular streets, and steel curbs. Received poorly, its unpopularity led the city to modify much of his work, but aspects still exist today.
Eldred expressed his desire to reveal natural phenomena. He created a towering sculpture in a Kansas City park that sprayed water in order to create prismatic light refractions. His emphasis increasingly focused on light; he used mirrors, pure pigments, gas flames, fluorescent paint, refraction tape, glass, neon tubes and other materials to create light effects. "I want the sculptures to remind us all," he said, "that our lives are inextricably linked to light, and that our universe is in constant motion." He created the Light+Time Tower at the city of Raleigh, North Carolina designed to diffract the morning and afternoon sunlight into vibrant colors visible to the commuters who pass by it. His Steeple of Light, originally proposed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Community Christian Church in Kansas City, was completed by his partner and collaborator Roberta Lord after Eldred died in 1993 before the sculpture was finalized in 1994.
In collaboration with choreographer Todd Bolender, he created the set and costumes for "Voyager," a ballet performed by the State Ballet of Missouri.
He collaborated with other highly regarded artists and musicians, including composer Philip Glass.
Commissions, Museums and Private Collections
United States
ArizonaTime/Light Fusion, 1990, Scottsdale Center for the Arts, ScottsdaleTime Garden, 1990, Arizona State University, TempeVision Lens: Light and Future, 1990, Arizona State University, TempeColoradoLight & Time Labyrinth, 1994, Auraria Higher Education Center, Denver
FloridaSolar Time Plane, 1984, Broward County Main Library, Fort LauderdaleLight Abacus I, 1990, Criser Hall, GainesvilleSun Stations, 1983, Coconut Grove Station, MiamiEarth and Sky Garden, 1984, University of South Florida, College of Public Health courtyard, Tampa
- "Spectral Field", 1990, University of Central Florida, College of Engineering, Orlando
IowaLandscape Piece #1, 1965, Des Moines Art Center, Des MoinesModel for Landscape, 1967, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines
KansasSalina Piece, 1969, University of Kansas, LawrenceUntitled, 1968, litho, Spencer Gallery of Art, University of Kansas, LawrenceUntitled, 1968, litho, Spencer Gallery of Art, University of Kansas, LawrenceGalileo's Garden, 1984, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park
MichiganUntitled, 1973, Grand Valley State University, Allendale
MinnesotaMankato Piece, 1968, Riverfront Park, MankatoMinneapolis Project, 1983, Minneapolis Institute of Arts and other sites, Minneapolis
MissouriHeritage Fountain, 1977, Blue Valley Park, Kansas CitySteeple of Light, 1990–94, Community Christian Church, Kansas CitySignage, Harry J. Epstein Hardware, Kansas CityEast Gate Piece, 1966, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas CityHomage to the Ancients, 1975, print, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas CitySeven Views of the Grand Canyon, 1985, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas CitySculpture II, 1963, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas CityStanding Iron, 1962, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas CityUntitled, 1962, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas CitySun Field, 1991, Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis
North CarolinaTime + Light Tower, 1991, Capital Blvd & Fairview Dr, Raleigh
OhioLight Path Crossing, 1987, Case Western University, ClevelandSun Obelisk, 1974, Promenade Park, Toledo
OklahomaTulsa Time and Light Continuum, 1983, Convention Center, TulsaRadiant Range, 1993, Convention Center, TulsaKansas Landmark , 1965, Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa
OregonLevitated Light, 1987, Portland State University, School of Business Administration, Portland
TennesseeAirport Sun Project, 1989, Nashville International Airport, Nashville
UtahLight and Time Incident, 1995, Utah State University, Science / Technology Library, Logan
VirginiaLight Garden, 1988, Virginia Beach
WisconsinAppleton Aurora, 1989, Appleton Center, Appleton
International
- City Art Museum, Helsinki
- Cankaya Cultural and Arts Foundation, Ankara, Turkey