Light Up (sculpture)
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| Light Up | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Tony Smith |
| Year | 1974 |
| Type | Painted steel |
| Dimensions | 20.6 ft × 16.6 ft × 28.6 ft (247 in × 199 in × 343 in) |
| Location | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Owner | University of Pittsburgh |
Light Up, often stylised as Light Up!, is a painted steel plate public art sculpture created by American artist Tony Smith and dedicated on May 15, 1974. The sculpture is located in the University of Pittsburgh's Forbes Quadrangle between Posvar Hall, the Barco Law Building, and Hillman Library. Commissioned in 1971 by Westinghouse Electric Corporation,[1] it was originally situated in Gateway Center in downtown Pittsburgh, but was donated to the University of Pittsburgh and relocated to its Oakland campus in 1988.[2] The sculpture was temporarily recited to the Seagram Plaza in New York City in 1998 for an exhibition of Smith's work at the Museum of Modern Art.[3]
In 1971, then-board-chairman of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation Donald Burnham commissioned Tony Smith for a piece of public artwork for the Gateway Center in downtown Pittsburgh. Light Up! was assembled with a crane on-site in 1974. With the help of University of Pittsburgh architect Ana Guzman, the sculpture was relocated to its current location on the University's campus.[4]
Although generally well received at the time of its dedication,[5] it was described as a disappointment by a news columnist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for not being as "dynamic" as some of Smith's other works.[6]