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Arts & Activities, Nov, 2003 by Guy Hubbard

Chryssa (American; b. 1933). The Gates to Times Square, 1966. Welded stainless steel, neon and Plexiglas; overall, 120" x 120" x 120". Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, Gift of Mrs. and Mrs. Albert A. List, 1972.

ABOUT THIS SCULPTURE

On her arrival in the United States from Europe, Chryssa lived first in San Francisco, but soon moved to New York City. When she arrived in New York she had no money or friends and felt very much alone. However, she was excited by the rich popular culture to be seen everywhere in the city. It was totally different from anything she had known in France or Greece. Moreover, she discovered that the people who made the great flashing signs did not really understand how powerful their work was, especially to people visiting the city for the first time. It is as though it took a foreigner like Chryssa to recognize the "American-ness" of the city lights and to want to interpret them artistically.

From the moment Chryssa first saw Times Square she was attracted by the artistic possibilities of the signs and the brilliant masses of lights. Eventually her experience in Times Square occupied more and more of her time until she finally set to work on this monumental sculpture, The Gates to Times Square.

Chryssa repeatedly visited Times Square before starting this sculpture in order to sketch, take photographs, and write notes. The result is a 10-foot cube that took a total of five years to complete. During that time, she built 15 three-dimensional models of her idea, and wrote a journal about her thoughts as the sculpture was being constructed. Her journal included descriptions of what she did as well as analyses of how well she had solved various problems.

The sculpture was a challenging test of Chryssa's artistic ideas and her persistence in the face of numbers of difficulties. It was built in a Brooklyn studio with the help of numbers of skilled workmen who, at first, understood the new technologies better than she did but knew nothing about art. Among them were electricians, glassblowers and metal workers (in aluminum sheeting, casting, and welding). Because of its size and the use of unusual materials and manual skills, the sculpture was extremely expensive to make--but that did not stop Chryssa from her task.

The overall shape of the sculpture is a giant capital "A," although the artist never came out and said what the meaning was. One explanation is that Chryssa believed Times Square to be the most American place that she had ever seen: as though it best captured the American way of life. Another explanation of the "A" form is that it means "Alpha"--or the first letter of the Greek Alphabet. Alpha also means something that is dominant or of greatest importance. One critic wrote about the sculpture that it is a thrilling homage to the living American culture of advertising and mass communications. For all these reasons, the sculpture is unique among artworks of the 20th century.

The Gates to Times Square is composed of an open three-dimensional triangle composed of a framework of stainless steel, Steeply sloping sides are divided by diagonal sheets of aluminum: To this framework are attached pieces of cast aluminum, various kinds of electrical lighting, fragments of commercial signs that have been welded together, Plexiglas, and rolled paper plans to indicate the thoughtful preparations that goes into commercial signs. In addition, the electrical connections and the switching mechanisms that controlled the lights are all thought of as part of the finished work. Chryssa did not try and hide them from view.

The finished Times Square sculpture was exhibited at the Grand Central Railroad Terminal in New York, as well as at the Seattle World's Fair. It was also displayed in Germany and Brazil before being purchased for the collection of the Albright-Knox Art Museum in Buffalo, NewYork.

During the time this sculpture was being constructed, the artist was busy producing many more modest artworks and exhibiting them in galleries around the world. She had eight one-artist shows in Europe and the United States during this time as well as a display at the Seattle World's Fair. Some of this work extended her interest in the news media, while some continued her interest in neon and electrical displays.

The buzz and crackle of the electrical controls that altered the brightness of her work and often cut off all the light became special features that identified her work. She also used black light in some light sculptures to create glowing bluish reflections that gave a somber, nighttime appearance to them.