The Doors Donald Lipski		Print This Page Email This Page

Background
The Doors was commissioned by Starwood Capital Group, LLC, Golub & Company and IDM Properties through the Art in Private Development program of the City of Scottsdale. The realization of this signature artwork is the result of an unprecedented collaboration between the Scottsdale Public Art Program and the developer—a relationship established in 2004.

Donald Lipski’s sculpture is the first in a series of significant public and privately funded artworks that will populate Scottsdale’s Arizona Canal area. The Doors sets a high bar for future additions to the canal area collection as it offers all the best elements of experiential art—it is approachable, unique and fun, and appealing to motorists and pedestrians alike. In addition, The Doors has a dynamic quality that will encourage visitors to re-experience the sculpture at different times of the day as well as over time. The sculpture invites exploration—not only of itself—but of the entire downtown as well.

About the Art
Donald Lipski (b. 1947)
The Doors, 2007
Ipe (Brazilian hardwood), mirror polished stainless steel, forged stainless steel, light.
Located at the southwest corner of Scottsdale and Camelback Roads in downtown Scottsdale
Fabricated by Junoworks, Denver, Colorado

The Doors is a 28-ft tall, walk-in kaleidoscope—an interactive monument to discovery—that marks the threshold to Scottsdale’s downtown.

Designed for Scottsdale and installed April 2007, The Doors is now one of the most important works in the Scottsdale Public Art Collection, along with the James Turrell Skyspace, Louise Nevelson’s Windows to the West and Robert Indiana’s Love.

Quick Facts

• The Doors is the most significant artwork gifted in the history of the City.
• Artist Donald Lipski (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is known for creating art from everyday objects that we often take for granted. While making toys for his young son, he wondered what one might see and feel if they were to step inside a kaleidoscope.
• Ipe, one of the densest of all hardwoods, will age over time from its natural brown color to silver-gray.
• Mirror-polished stainless steel creates a more crisp reflection than mirrored glass.
• The sculpture has 1,300 hand forged, stainless steel, decorative rivets, in addition to 1,100 linear feet of strapping—all created by a blacksmith.

The artwork is offered as a gift by the Scottsdale Waterfront Commercial, LLC to the Scottsdale Public Art Program. It is the largest, single donation of an artwork in our City’s history. Realization of the sculpture is a major milestone of achievement within the Arizona Canal development and for downtown Scottsdale. Such accomplishments are helping the area to rapidly become a significant civic, residential, commercial, and tourist destination.

Location

In front of P. F. Chang's at the southwest corner of Scottsdale and Camelback roads.

About the Artist

Donald Lipski earned his M.F.A. in1973 from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. His many honors include National Endowment for the Arts awards, an American Academy of Arts and Letters award, and the Guggenheim Fellowship. Mr. Lipski's work is in permanent collections nationally including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis, and the Menil Collection in Houston.

Overview

Jim Green has used sound as a primary artistic medium for over twenty-five years. His approach is to humanize public space by playfully introducing unexpected sound into the environment.

A review panel met February 28, 2007 for Jim Green's presentation of his proposal for an audio component for Donald Lipski's The Doors sculpture.

Mr. Lipski's approval has been key in the development of Mr. Green's proposal and is integral to the artwork and its installation. Mr. Green's proposal is to create a program of what he calls sound mantras, rhythmic episodes of sound that balance the pixilated visual space of the kaleidoscope effect inside the sculpture.

The sound program will mask the din of traffic and provide a range of collected sounds from desert wildlife to composed sounds. The concealed equipment specified for the project is of the highest quality commercial sound electronics and will be accessible for maintenance. The project will be completed Fall 2007.

Sample Tracks

Prototype Sound 1

Prototype Sound 2

Prototype Sound 3

Prototype Sound 4

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