Tower of Impeccable Notes 1991-1992

monochromed welded steel (9,5 x 5,0 x 3,3 m)
Tower of Impeccable Notes 1991-1992
City of Vlissingen, the Netherlands

The Tower of Impeccable Notes, was conceived as part of “Torenhoog”, a tower project organized in Eindhoven in Holland in 1991, and later moved to Vlissingen. The project concept saw towers historically as a status symbol, as is in fact the case all over Italy, but particularly so in San Gimignano near Siena in Tuscany. In this small hilltop village, as merchant families increased their wealth, it was fashionable to express this by building a tower as an addition to their dwelling or villa. In times of strife when civility and diplomacy broke down, of which even during the Rennaisance there were plenty, the inhabitants would inevitably start shooting at each other from their towers.

These historical factors and social tensions were the inspiration for my tower, constructed as an example of a process being solidified, actually being constructed by climbing/building itself to the top of itself (without a crane). The final image thus became a testament to the folly at hand, with the perils of vanity becoming visible, in this case in steel. This implies, also, that the finished tower can be safely climbed, a sculpture as architecture.

David Smithson © 1991-2015


monochromed welded steel (9,5 x 5,0 x 3,3 m)		Tower of Impeccable Notes 1991-1992 City of Vlissingen, the Netherlands The Tower of Impeccable Notes, was conceived as part of “Torenhoog”, a tower project organized in Eindhoven in Holland in 1991, and later moved to Vlissingen. The project concept saw towers historically as a status symbol, as is in fact the case all over Italy, but particularly so in San Gimignano near Siena in Tuscany. In this small hilltop village, as merchant families increased their wealth, it was fashionable to express this by building a tower as an addition to their dwelling or villa. In times of strife when civility and diplomacy broke down, of which even during the Rennaisance there were plenty, the inhabitants would inevitably start shooting at each other from their towers. These historical factors and social tensions were the inspiration for my tower, constructed as an example of a process being solidified, actually being constructed by climbing/building itself to the top of itself (without a crane). The final image thus became a testament to the folly at hand, with the perils of vanity becoming visible, in this case in steel. This implies, also, that the finished tower can be safely climbed, a sculpture as architecture.

David Smithson © 1991-2015