Megaplanet

Object NameSculpture

Artist / Maker Josh Simpson ((American, b. 1949))

Manufacturer Josh Simpson ((American, b. 1949))

Date2000

OriginUSA

MediumBlown glass with glass canes, metal foils, silver bromide, powdered glass, cased and polished

Dimensions9 7/8 x 11 3/4 in. diam. (25.1 x 29.8 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from Arthur Klein. Commissioned by the University Museums on the occasion of its 25th Anniversary. In the permanent collection of the Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberUM2000.1

Status

Not on view

Collections

Sculpture

Label TextJosh Simpson is a superb designer, exuberant craftsman, and aesthetic visionary. Drawn to the mysteries of the universe, the artist is seduced by images of secret universes and landscapes hidden beneath the sea's surface, held by the night's sky, or veiled behind the vast vistas of space. From fire and sand, Simpson makes magic in his glass studio, creating small sculptural universes for others' exploration. On the occasion of the University Museums' 25th anniversary, Simpson was commissioned to create a signature object for the permanent collection. Megaplanet exemplifies the mission of the University Museums--to be an embodiment of art, science, technology, and the humanities melded together for the communities of Iowa State University. Simpson received a BA at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York in 1972. Simpson's works of art have been exhibited in the Smithsonian, the White House, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Air and Space Museum, the Corning Museum of Glass, and in museums in Japan, France, Germany, and Switzerland. Simpson was inspired to begin leaving his Planets all over the world when he dug up some old marbles in his garden. Since then, he has hidden them in places as close as flower pots in his hometown to as far as glaciers, volcanoes, the roof of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and underwater in the Galapagos Islands, hoping that they will be uncovered and appreciated in the future. One of Simpson's planets has even traveled to outer space. Simpson is married to NASA Astronaut Catherine Coleman, who holds a BS in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a doctorate in polymer science and engineering from the University of Massachusetts. Coleman has been involved in two missions of the Space Shuttle Columbia. During a 1995 mission, she took one of Simpson's planets into space with her.

MarkingsSigned on flat area by artist, and inscribed

Locations