TITLE: Give and Take
ARTIST: Michael Smith
DATE: 2005
MATERIALS: Painted mild steel
DIMENSIONS: N/A
TYPE: sculpture
Give and Take (2005) is a mild steel sculpture, painted yellow, that sits on a metal sheet atop an 8-inch concrete platform.
In naming this piece Give and Take Indianapolis-based sculptor Michael Smith encourages us to consider the ways we struggle to achieve balance in our relationships.
Can the empty space in a sculpture be a key part of the work? What governs the back-and-forth in that in-between? Can you imagine one figure without the other?
If this piece inspires you, check out Constantin Brancusi’s classic 20th century brass sculptures, no doubt an influence on this work.
To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_and_Take_(sculpture),
which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI
Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A
Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”