February 2006. Bronze, stainless steel, sunlight. Dimensions: 18 × 20 × 10 ft.
Via Solaris was commissioned for Indiana State University in Terre Haute and represents a culmination of my Celestial Works, begun with Solstice Calendar in 1986. The monumental bronze, granite, and stainless-steel sculpture combines the language of contemporary sculpture with one of humankind’s oldest scientific instruments—the solar calendar. Its sweeping crescent form and stainless-steel element engage the movement of the sun, bringing together art, astronomy, and the passage of time. JOHN VAN ALSTINE SCULPTURE
At the spring and fall equinoxes, the sun’s angle at solar noon aligns with a specially positioned opening, allowing a spot of sunlight to illuminate a marker on the granite base—signaling the moment in the annual cycle when day and night are approximately equal. More broadly, Via Solaris is intended to reconnect us with the natural rhythms of light and darkness, seasons and time—forces that shaped human experience long before the modern calendar.
February 2006. Bronze, stainless steel, sunlight. Dimensions: 18 × 20 × 10 ft.
Via Solaris was commissioned for Indiana State University in Terre Haute and represents a culmination of my Celestial Works, begun with Solstice Calendar in 1986. The monumental bronze, granite, and stainless-steel sculpture combines the language of contemporary sculpture with one of humankind’s oldest scientific instruments—the solar calendar. Its sweeping crescent form and stainless-steel element engage the movement of the sun, bringing together art, astronomy, and the passage of time. JOHN VAN ALSTINE SCULPTURE
At the spring and fall equinoxes, the sun’s angle at solar noon aligns with a specially positioned opening, allowing a spot of sunlight to illuminate a marker on the granite base—signaling the moment in the annual cycle when day and night are approximately equal. More broadly, Via Solaris is intended to reconnect us with the natural rhythms of light and darkness, seasons and time—forces that shaped human experience long before the modern calendar.
noon sun angles
drawing showing equinox sun spot
marking equinox sunspot
equinox sunspot progression
detail showing sunspot opening and stainless equinox marking bar
initial proposal drawing
equinox noon shadow
installing bronze onto "proboscis" foundation anchor
marking the solstice angles for marking bar installation
