The National Mall in Southwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Double Candle, 2018
Sterling Ruby, American, b. Bitburg, Germany, 1972
Bronze; Approved acquisition of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), October 31, 2021
1. Double Candle, 2018 Marker
Inscription.
Double Candle, 2018. Sterling Ruby, American, b. Bitburg, Germany, 1972. Sterling Ruby's prolific and inventive practice spans painting, photography, textiles, video, ceramics, sculpture, and even fashion design. He is especially well known for his provocative approach to materials; before making this work, he created free-standing, fiberfill-stuffed sculptures of candles wrapped in fabric, most notably a patchwork of American flag pattern. In Double Candle, Ruby turns to bronze, one of the sculpture's most immovable and weighty materials, to capture and crystallize the ephemeral presence of flickering light. Twinned, towering objects hold a singular place in the twenty-first-century American psyche, and this work marries its formal concerns with that political edge. If a monument can be understood as an expression of power in public space, and a memorial as an expression of grief, Double Candle stands as a synthesis of the two: resolute and melancholy, it calls to national memory, unity, and spirit.
Sterling Ruby's prolific and inventive practice spans painting, photography, textiles, video, ceramics, sculpture, and even fashion design. He is especially well known for his provocative approach to materials; before making this work, he created free-standing, fiberfill-stuffed sculptures of candles wrapped in fabric, most notably a patchwork of American flag pattern. In Double Candle, Ruby turns to bronzeone of the sculpture's most immovable and weighty materialsto capture and crystallize the ephemeral presence of flickering light. Twinned, towering objects hold a singular place in the twenty-first-century American psyche, and this work marries its formal concerns with that political edge. If a monument can be understood as an expression of power in public space, and a memorial as an expression of grief, Double Candle stands as a synthesis of the two: resolute and melancholy, it calls to national memory, unity, and spirit.
Erected by Hirshhorn Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Arts, Letters, Music. A significant historical year for this entry is 2018.
Location. 38° 53.306′ N,
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77° 1.353′ W. Marker is in Southwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in The National Mall. It can be reached from Jefferson Drive Southwest just west of 7th Street Southwest, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 765 Jefferson Drive Southwest, Washington DC 20591, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Upper South, in the Mid-Atlantic, in the Tidewater, and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other markers no longer nearby. Yoko Ono (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); a different marker also named Welcome to the Hirshhorn Museum's Plaza (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been confirmed missing).
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), October 31, 2021
3. Double Candle exhibit
This is a photo of the marker and sculpture in its previous location.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 24, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 31, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 627 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos:1. submitted on October 31, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 2. submitted on January 24, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3. submitted on October 31, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
