It was the idea of James Lee Byars, whose work will be presented at the Venice Biennale.
The piece was installed as part of the contemporary art festival on the edge of Grand Canal in Venice. The author created the tower as a symbol of a beacon that bridges heaven and earth and unify humanity. The work by late artist James Lee Byars is visible from different spots around the city, giving Biennale visitors and tourists an opportunity to see the tower and its artistic message.
The American sculptor and performance artist’s widow Wendy Dunaway says her husband viewed the golden tower as a monument to humanity. He thought Venice, where he lived for some time, was a place where eastern and western culture meet.
“I can’t imagine a more fitting tribute in these times,” Dunaway says.
The project conceived by Lee Byars was implemented by Rome’s Fondazione Giuliani in collaboration with New York’s Michael Werner Gallery. The tower’s golden colour is a metaphor of the sun and a symbol of inner illumination, intellectual knowledge and spiritual experience.
The tower at the Venice Biennale is a tribute to James Lee Byars. The artist spent there several years, working with master glass-blowers of Murano. The idea of a golden tower came to him in 1976 and was later developed in his numerous conceptual projects. The artwork installed in Venice this year is the first attempt to fully realise his idea in a public space, as he originally intended.
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