Downtown Providence in Providence County, Rhode Island — The American Northeast (New England)
Lionel Smit
Morphous
— 2014, Bronze —
Lionel Smit's Morphous is an exploration of hybrid identity and its ever-changing nature within South Africa's social landscape and evokes a question of time, of past and future, and the balance point at which his country found itself at the time of the sculpture's creation in 2014, one year after Nelson Mandela's passing. The figures are charged with an emotive and gestural energy, a hallmark of Smit's evocative work. Viewers familiar with Ancient Roman mythology and iconography will undoubtedly think of Janus, the double headed deity of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames and endings.
The end of 2022, the time of the sculpture's installation here in Providence, is also a time of transition broadly in The United States, and locally here in Rhode Island. It is a powerful message of representation to consider this reference to Janus when depicting a young Black woman.
"Dedicated to the beautifully diverse community of Providence, my home. All the past and all the future meet at this very moment. Care deeply, question all, dream big, and create the new now."
Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, The Creative Capital, November 28, 2022
Erected 2022 by Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, City of Providence;
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Arts, Letters, Music. A significant historical date for this entry is November 28, 2022.
Location. 41° 49.524′ N, 71° 24.657′ W. Marker is in Providence, Rhode Island, in Providence County. It is in Downtown Providence. Marker is at the intersection of Kennedy Plaza and Exchange Street on Kennedy Plaza. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Kennedy Plaza, Providence RI 02903, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Abraham Lincoln (within shouting distance of this marker); The Hiker (within shouting distance of this marker); Federal Building / U.S. Courthouse (within shouting distance of this marker); Ambrose Burnside Memorial (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Providence Harbor History (about 300 feet away); A History of Kennedy Plaza (about 400 feet away); a different marker also named A History of Kennedy Plaza (about 400 feet away); a different marker also named A History of Kennedy Plaza (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Providence.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 6, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 6, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 51 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 6, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
