Information Sheet on Alexander Liberman American, born in Russia, 1912–1999 Ascent 1970 Painted steel, 16 x 20 x 25 ft. Museum purchase with the Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts, 2005.1

Subject Matter No matter where one views Alexander Liberman’s Ascent, its appearance differs from the other sides. From one side, it appears rigidly geometric with horizontals and verticals; from another side, diagonal planes intersect with the horizontals and verticals; closer examination from yet another view reveals large cylindrical shapes, one of which appears to have been crushed by the thrust of a diagonal plane. All of these vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines suggest movement within this monumental .

In Ascent, Liberman combined large welded steel planes and cylinders, using the laws of physics and gravity to invoke principles of thrust and balance in three-dimensional space. Liberman made several simple preliminary sketches of Ascent. One of five large Liberman metal that incorporate a crushed element, Ascent almost certainly requires an outdoor installation to accommodate its size. Wm. Layman & Sons of Warren, Connecticut, fabricated Ascent at the artist’s studio/farm in Warren. Liberman supervised and participated in the fabrication, placing one of the large metal cylinders against a tree and ramming it with a bulldozer. Ascent is painted with DuPont Imron, 6282-red-orange, a very durable, exterior automotive paint, over a primer of DuPont 25-P. Liberman used only shades of red, black, or white paint on his monumental public sculptures, the favorite color being red-orange.

About the Artist Alexander Liberman was born in Kiev, Russia, to Simon and Heneriette (Pascar) Liberman in 1912. His father was a government economist and expert in commercial lumber under the Czar and was retained in that capacity by Lenin for five years after the Revolution. Heneriette loved theatre, art, and music. In 1919, she established the first state theatre for children in Moscow. As a boy, Alexander often traveled with his parents throughout Russia in a private rail car. At different times, the Libermans lived in both Moscow and St. Petersburg, where his mother exposed Alexander to art museums, cathedrals, and the architecture of government buildings.

After Lenin’s death, the family moved to Paris in 1924. By 1926, 12-year-old Alexander had met Chagall, Léger, Larionov, Gontcharova, and a Russian painter’s niece, Tatiana Iacovleff. Alexander traveled with his mother in France, Germany, Greece, and Italy. In Paris, he studied art, architecture, mathematics, and photography. Aside from his formal academic studies, Alexander was not only greatly impressed with the destruction he observed during the Revolution in Russia, but also with the classical architecture and ruins he saw in Greece and Rome. He also was very aware of the Russian fascination with chance, both controlled and uncontrolled. He became Art Director of the magazine VU in 1932 and then Managing Director. The family left Paris in 1940 for Spain and moved to in 1941. In New York, he was hired by Vogue magazine, one of the Condé Nast Publications. Alexander Liberman American, born in Russia, 1912–1999 Ascent 1970 Painted steel, 16 x 20 x 25 ft. Museum purchase with the Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts, 2005.1

About the Artist continued Awed by the scale of modern American infrastructure such as bridges, highways, airports, and factories, Liberman was amazed that ordinary Americans could obtain commercial construction materials. He married Tatiana (Iacovleff) du Plessix in 1942. (Tatiana’s daughter, Francine, by her first husband, Baron du Plessix, is today a well-known author.) The Liberman marriage, described by book reviewer Holly Bruback, was a symbiotic relationship between a man who needed a woman’s domination and a controlling woman who needed to exist in security and limelight. In 1943, Liberman became art director of Vogue. He returned to painting in 1945, and by any measure was very prolific.

Beginning in 1948, Liberman made annual visits to Europe, renewing his fascination with the architecture and sculpture of Rome, especially the Campidoglio plaza. Guests at the Liberman townhouse parties often included contemporary artists such as Chagall, Dalí, Duchamp, Frankenthaler, Motherwell, Noguchi, and Pollock. In 1962, Liberman became the editorial director of all Condé Nast publications. Around 1963, he began focusing his creative energies on sculpture while continuing to paint. His sculpture and paintings are in collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York’s , the Tate Gallery in London, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the J. Paul Getty Museum. His monumental sculptures are installed in cities in America, Japan, Korea, Israel, and Europe. Throughout Alexander Liberman’s career, he was interested in engineering, space, velocity, thrust, and chance. He was successful in several fields of art, including filmmaking, writing, magazine editing and publishing, painting, printmaking, photography, and sculpting. Liberman died in November 1999.

Quotes from the Artist There’s an old Russian saying that chance is noble–perhaps I was brought up with this feeling.

Artists of the past were inspired by literature. Today we are fed by a scientific environment. We see airplanes, we see rockets. This inspires to a new scale. We see oil refineries, incredible things for our imagination.

Strategies for Tours Primary Grades (ages 6-8) [Allow students to walk around all sides. Discuss two- and three-dimensional art.] Is this a sculpture or part of a building? What do you see? [Explain how the artist participated in its fabrication and the role that the element of chance played in the finished sculpture.] Upper Elementary Grades (ages 9-11) [Use questions and discussion above.] What does this sculpture remind you of? What is going on here? [Explore line, shape, color, space, and material in its composition. Compare Ascent to Asteriskos by Tony Smith, in terms of these art elements.] Middle School and High School (age 12-18) [Use discussion above. Summarize the artist’s background, education, and career.] How does the title, Ascent, relate to the composition of the sculpture? Adults [Use questions and discussion above for Middle and High School. ]

Sources Worth Consulting Kazanjian, Dodie. Alex: The Life of Alexander Liberman. Knopf, 1993. Liberman, Alexander. The Artist in His Studio. , 1960. Rose, Barbara. Liberman. Abbeville Press, 1981. www.stormking.org [accessed August 2005]

Prepared by Bill Hill Date July 2005