Interstate 70, Richard M. Hollander

Artwork Overview

Richard M. Hollander, Interstate 70
Richard M. Hollander, Interstate 70
Richard M. Hollander
Interstate 70
1970
Richard M. Hollander
1911–1991
Interstate 70, 1970
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: paint; steel; welding
Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Length (Height x Width x Length): 157.5 x 148 x 658 cm
Object Height/Width/Length (Height x Width x Length): 62 1/2 x 58 1/4 x 259 1/16 in
Object Height (Height): base 24.8 cm
Object Height (Height): 9 3/4 in
Credit line: Museum purchase
Accession number: 1982.0094
On display: outdoors Marvin Grove
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Audio Tour – Ear for Art
Audio Tour – Ear for Art
The groupings of discs connected by rectangular bars represent the experience of traveling on an interstate highway. The geometric shapes echo the lines of a moving vehicle frozen in time. How does the quiet, contemplative nature of Marvin Grove influence your interpretation of the work?
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
Some may call this sculpture simplistic, boring or even pointless. I say the opposite. How, you may ask, could Interstate 70 possibly be interesting or intricate? As you look upon the steel bars and wheels, painted in their ominous black paint, can’t you envision a car, speeding down a freeway at vast amounts of speed? The flowing lines and connecting shapes conjure up images of a sleek and modern motor vehicle, yet the shapes involved seem so uninteresting by themselves. Not only does this piece remind one of a car, but also for the immense highway for which it is named. In the 1950’s, president Dwight D. Eisenhower recognized the swelling numbers of citizens in his country, particularly on the coasts, but at the time, there was no connecting route. To compensate for this lack of accessibility, the president commissioned the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. The first of these new roadways to be built was the I-70, through Kansas and Missouri. Perhaps this is why the sculptor, Richard Hollander chose this road in particular. Richard Hollander was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1911 and studied sculpting in Berlin, Copenhagen, and Paris in the 1930’s. When he returned to the United States, he set up shop in Kansas City, Missouri, where he lived and worked until his death in 1991. During his active years, Hollander was most widely known for his pieces made of bronze, brass, and aluminium, which often evoke family groups or rituals. He created Interstate 70 in 1970, but it wasn’t until 1982 that the museum bought the sculpture, where they placed it right in the middle of campus. I think its setting in Marvin Grove is symbolic of how man has affected nature. It almost seems alien in this alfresco location, much like the interstate is very outlandish compared to the farms and fields that it cuts through. The bars and circles could also represent how the interstate system connects major cities across the country, the bars being the highways and the circles being cities. Or maybe a train, symbolizing American industry and transportation. On a more personal level, this piece reminded me of my travels around the world, using many different transportation methods, including the I-70. Whatever interpretation you may take on this sculpture, I think we can all agree that Richard Hollander has created an enigma. This has been Patrick Keating with another Bulldog podcast.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
Interstate 70 by Richard Holland is unable to launch to one location, it goes in virtually infinite direction simultaneously. The miraculous aura created is the illusion of movement while staying at rest. I feel it will either thrust off speedily on an unknown course leaving me in its wake, or harmlessly function with no intention of taking a journey. Interstate 70 surpasses Newton’s 3rd law by performing the action, opposite reaction and equal reaction in a singular moment which spans throughout the entire period you set your gaze upon it. All of these traits are stored only within a 148 x 658 cm base and a height 157.5 cm. As you set your eyes upon the black welded steel you do not wish for it to leave your field of vision, for you feel will act the moment you look away. Though the title of this piece is set in stone, stone can easily be weathered away. This figure’s title is open to interpretation. One of the factors that caused me to choose this exhibit was just that, the ability to choose your own title of the art. The insane genius that is captured in this exhibit contacts us individually using a variation of methods, your praxis of Interstate 70 may share little to nothing with the author nor me which to me is fairly fascinating. This piece became complete in 1970 which is close to when I-70 originally was established in Kansas. How I predict the author interpreted it is as the circular discs being locations and the supports as Interstate 70 gifting millions the ability to travel with ease, then again Holland may have perceived his work as a speeding automobile, traversing the great Interstate 70. My reaction with not knowing the title shared little to no similarity with what I predict Holland’s purpose for the exhibit was. The inspiration in this exhibit exist with me as I wish it stays with you, it is a reminder that you can affect other people for the better without them knowing your name if you just love what you do, do what you love, and keep being impossibly possible. This has been JJ Smith with another bulldog podcast.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
The wheels speed up as we attempt to reach our destination as fast as possible, just as every human feels the urge to go faster. But if we were to reach our destination as fast as possible, would we not take a train or plane? No, we took the scenic route, wanting to look at nature and humans masterpieces. Interstate 70 is a black, steel, welded, abstract sculpture, created by Richard Hollander in 1970.I was drawn to this sculpture, because of times when I spent countless hours in a car growing closer to the ones I love, it reminded me of. Easier days when we had money to go on trips. There are two sets of disks and bars, one with six disks, and the other with three. They sit on a platform that is the road. When I first looked at the sculpture, it reminded me of a train, but when I read the name of the piece I thought of an eighteen wheeler carrying a shipment across the country. The highway interstate 70 bisects the United States. It’s furthest easterly point is Baltimore, Maryland, which stretches to its westerly point Cove Fort, Utah. Interstate 70 was constructed in 1956 and is 2,153 miles long. The disks of the sculpture are wheels and the bars connect them, just like this highway connects many major cities such as Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Columbus. I believe this sculpture is trying to put you on a road trip across interstate 70. It’s put in Marvin Grove, to represent the scenic journey along this freeway. I-70 has many natural beauties along its path like the Colorado River, Glenwood Canyon, Rocky Mountains, and more. The simplicity of the sculpture suites it well, leaving you to make a story for it. Just as if you were on interstate 70, you make the journey, you decide the path in which you want to follow. Some may want to get to their destination as fast as possible, but some take the adventurous path. Besides, as they say, it's not about the destination, but the journey. This has been Elijah Eklund with another Bulldog Podcast.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
The Wheel has turned, for better or worse. And it will keep on turning, As lights die and forests dim, Storms call and skies break. Turn it will. The Wheel is not hope, And the Wheel does not care, The Wheel simply is. But so long as it turns, Folk may hope, folk may care. For with light that fades, another will eventually grow, And each storm that rages must eventually die. As long as the Wheel turns. As long as it turns... -Doreille Torghin, The Wheel Turns. A train without walls? A macabre spider? Wheels intertwining? A vehicle frozen in time? The wonders your mind can think up about what this sculpture conveys are endless. This can be expected from the abstractness of the piece, with three groupings of discs connected by rectangular bars. Personally, I believe Richard Hollander was trying to convey the experience of traveling on an Interstate highway, which can easily be implied through the title of this artwork, Interstate 70. Although, if this piece truly was suggesting movement and wheels, then why is it located in Marvin Grove, a peaceful green area where there really isn’t a lot of traffic and movement? My guess is that the artist was trying to create paradox and irony with this piece. His intention was to make us wonder. Now you may be wondering, as I still am, why Richard Hollander wanted his artwork here in Lawrence, Kansas of all places. Many cities have quiet grove areas! I choose to believe that this is because Interstate 70 was actually the first part of the Interstate system to be built, and it crosses through Lawrence! Besides all the history of the title and what this piece conveys, it also makes you feel something. And the best part is, everybody feels something different. While I might feel as though the tone is foreboding, you might think it is hopeful. The possibilities are truly limitless. I hope that this piece got the gears of your mind spinning, just as the “gears” in this sculpture appear to have paused in their spinning. There are no boundaries to what you can think when you look upon this artwork, and that is what I like about it. This has been Madison Goeser with another bulldog podcast.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
Hundreds of people walk by the sculpture titled, “Interstate 70,” located in Marvin Grove, every day. However very few stop and look at the intriguing, contemporary sculpture that Richard Hollander created. The reason behind why most people don’t stop and ponder this statue is usually because they “don’t have time,” which is ironic given the meaning of the artwork. To me, Interstate 70 represents how busy everyone is in today's world. No one has time anymore to stop and look at a statue or relax and enjoy nature. Or at least that’s what we think, but in reality it’s our choice whether we do those things. The name Interstate 70 hints that the artist intended for the statue to represent driving on the Interstate. However when I first saw the piece, before I heard the name, I thought it represented how today’s world has become so infiltrated with technology that, as I previously mentioned, we think we don’t have time for anything that involves relaxing. Now, when we look at Hollander’s sculpture and envision it as an Interstate, the first question that came to my mind was, “why is a sculpture of a major roadway in the middle of grove full of grass and trees?” I thought on that question for a while, digging deeper and deeper in my mind, searching for an answer. Then it hit me, Hollander’s statue also represents what this technology filled world is doing to the environment. The steel circles welded together with straight bars connecting them, represent random locations all over the country, some of which are larger than others. The steel bars represent the Interstate which cuts through farmland, destroying the environment, just so we can get from one place to another faster. That’s why Interstates and today's technology were created, to try and quench the constant thirst to do everything faster that today's society has. So it all comes back to time, it’s the one thing we all need more of, or at least we think we do. So, next time you have 15 minutes to spare and you reach for your phone, stop yourself, leave your phone inside and simply go outside and look at artwork such as Interstate 70 or sit outside and ponder life. Take a break and let yourself slow down and take in the amazing world around you. This has been Banner Williams with another Bulldog Podcast.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
When I gaze upon the steel wheels of Interstate 70, I think of the Industrial might that rules our lives with a true iron fist. Sculpted in 1970 by Kansas City sculpture Richard Hollander, the sculpture Interstate 70 is made entirely out of welded steel. Donated to KU in 1982, it now sits in the middle of Marvin grove on campus. As I walked down into the green grove and first saw the sculpture, I thought it was some sort of bicycle. On further inspection I realized it was just wheels of no particular sort, but when I heard the name Interstate 70 I immediately understood the message the artist was trying to convey. Interstate 70, the highway of which the piece is named after, runs from just outside Baltimore, Maryland to Cove Fort Utah, and passes through Kansas City, Denver, my grandparent’s town of Wakeeney in Western Kansas. It is a highway I have rode on many times in my lifetime and probably will ride on many more times. I connect with the pieces name very well, and I understand the artist's message. The cold, industrial feel of this metallic piece resonates with me. It seems like a snapshot of moving wheels and shows no emotion, like the emotionless gaze of a children on a road trip staring at scenery as it moves by, going too fast to appreciate its beauty. It is like the blank stare of a factory worker as they operate machinery on an assembly line during the long laborious work day. It is like the blank stare of a teenager staring at their cell phone, disconnected from the real world. It is cold, hard and dead like a forest clearing after being razed to the ground. It is black, as black as the ocean after an oil spill, or as black as the polluted sky above a factory. It stands out in ugliness in Marvin Grove, which turns its placement into a message itself. It protrudes from the grove like how the highways of this nation romp over what was once, pure green land. Its rigid geometric shapes sharply contrast to the open, living plants of the grove. Looking at the sculpture it appears solemn and ominous, like a monument recollecting a past tragedy. But the tragedy this monument is remembering is not a tragedy of the past; this is monument is a warning for the future, and its tragedy is unfolding before our very eyes. Now the question is, are you going to let the steel wheels crush the natural beauty of the earth? Or are you going to try to stop this great catastrophe from unfolding? This is Jack with another Bulldog Podcast.

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SEE directions to this sculpture by tapping number 14 on this map