Client: The Music Center at Strathmore

Location: North Bethesda, MD, United States

Completion date: 2004

Artwork budget: $100,000

Project Team

Artist

Meryl Taradash

The Taradash Studio

Fabricator & Engineer

Wayne La Pierre

The Taradash Studio

Architect

Willam Rawn Associates (main)

Grimm & Parker Architects (local)

Public Art Agency

Montgomery County Dept. of Public Works

Overview

Suspended Rotating, Shaped Acrylic Prisms, Polished Aluminum Arcs, Reflected Light 46ft. x 96ft.x 8ft. 2004 Awarded by national competition, the permanent installation suspends 4 stories over a grand stairway and spans over 96ft. in length. The Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda, MD is home to the Baltimore Symphony, National Philharmonic, City Dance Ensemble and Levine School of Music.

Goals

The artwork was to be a suspension over a grand stairway leading to three levels approximately 50 feet in height. The space "is a lobby for drop-off arrivals, entering musicians, entertainers and students. Open railed corridors and elevators flank the north side of the stair. The south wall is solid and pierced at various levels with interior windows looking into the educational wing. This wall is architecturally dominant bearing multi-colored horizontal stripes for its full height and length; I proposed a continuous work which reflected its surroundings harmoniously.

Process

We worked with the staff of Clark construction company and utilized their scaffolding while the space was raw to secure our anchors above. Our efforts were coordinated by Montgomery County Dpt. of Public Works and Grimm and Parker Architects who represented William Rawn, the architect of the building. The staff of Strathmore assisted my 3-day installation crew of riggers.

Additional Information

After creating concept drawings of the space, I realized the artwork needs to reflect its environment without imposing upon it. The graceful shaped forms are abstract and represent music itself without being a literal interpretation. The clear prisms and aluminum arcs gently move and turn with the natural air currents creating light reflections throughout the course of the day, making the sculptural environment an ever-changing experience for the viewer. Strathmore opened publically in Feb. 2005.