The Seven Sisters of the Pleiades - Expanded Commentary
The Pleiades, 1885
Elihu Vedder (American, 1836–1923)
Oil on canvas
This series of sculptures is intended to be a collection of seven however, you are invited to consider a smaller grouping, or individual pieces.
The Seven Sisters of the Palisades, is a cluster of blue dwarf stars in the Taurus constellation. The Mayans believed this isa where the universe began. Today they are named for the seven daughters of the Atlas and Pleione of Greek/Roman mythology.
Long before I started thinking about this series I was a stargazer and one of my favorite constellations/star groupings has always been the Seven Sisters. However, the decision to name this set of sculptures after stars came after my decision to do a series of dancers/Acrobat's on poles. My decision to create seven and to name them after this star group came after a review of star name I found on the web. My Seven Sisters of the Pleiades dancers was completed before I found out there was a painting by Elihu Vedder with the same theme (above). All this may seem rather random and unrelated, but I see a bit of synchronicity in all of it. Whatever the case may be, for me, it feels right. I hope you enjoy my The Seven Sisters of the Palisades
The Seven Sisters of the Pleiades as a Fountain
It is hardly an original (perhaps most reminiscent of the Swedish artist Carl Milles), nonetheless I see a great opportunity and taking these seven figures, sizing them up to half or to full size, and placing them in a reflecting pool with each standing on top of a column, or better yet, a column of water. Their arrangement within the reflecting pool could be random, appropriate to the site, or place consistent with their arrangement of the Pleiades star system. This concept could be scaled up or down depending upon the context/setting of the commission. With the larger scale of the figures the indication of dancing tights could be made obvious for those that might be offended by the suggestion of a female nude. It's a wonderful clear vision that I know could be spectacular in execution. Maybe someday.
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