"Pawtucket Prism" Sculpture

"Pawtucket Prism" Sculpture in downtown Lowell

Quick Facts

Location:

Lower Locks (Confluence of the Pawtucket Canal and Concord River), Lowell, Massachusetts

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

This twenty-foot-high kinetic sculpture captures the essence of flowing water with sunlight and sound. This piece, which illustrates the theme of "the power of water," won a nationwide design competition. Ihara designed his piece so that originally the fountain's flow would move the 40 copper-colored steel cubes, which are arranged in a pyramid pattern. Today wind spins the cubes and simulates the sparkling quality of water as it is moved by wind and light plays upon it. Pawtucket is a Native American word for "falling water."

A graduate of Tokyo University, Micho Ihara is a former fellow of the Center for Advanced Visual Studies of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has recieved awards from the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and the Graham Foundation. Since 1956 Ihara has produced more than 50 commissioned works in this country, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore. His art is on view at the International Building of Rockefeller Center in New York City and Neiman-Marcus in Beverly Hills. A number of his works are kinetically engineered to move in the wind. "Composing music must be very close to the process of orchestrating the structure of my sculpture," the artist says. Although he works with metal, usually stainless steel, his sculptures are much more about air and light.

Site: Overlooking the confluence of the Pawtucket Canal and Concord River
Artist: Michio Ihara
Materials: Stainless and gold-plated steel