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Upwells – by Stephen Luecking

1992

Granite, bronze and cast iron / Spire is 40 ft tall.

Location: Center quad of North Science Campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Commissioned by John Needles Chester Fund and the Illinois Capital Development Board (CDB) Percent for Art Program. A location-specific, public, environmental sculpture won design awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects in 1992 and 1995.

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This piece is a Solar Meridian Calendar.The spire functions as a sundial which points to marker wells at local Solar Noon on the Winter and Summer Solstices and on the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes. A tube embedded in the back sphere allows visitors to sight on the tip of the spire to locate the Polar Star.

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