David Hare (American, 1917-1992) Sunrise, 1954-55 Bronze and steel, 71 x 42 x 22" George Cary Fund, 1955

David Hare has done a very unusual thing in this sculpture. Most often in art, when an artist wants to create a landscape, he or she will paint it. This way, they can easily make the sun shine, the water reflect light, and the clouds float lightly in the sky. Mr. Hare decided to try to make a landscape out of metal and rock! The two metals he used are steel and bronze, which are both very solid. Some of the things he made out of these solid materials are solid in real life, like the moon and the earth. The earth is the rock at the bottom. Can you find two different kinds of moons?

But some things Mr. Hare made out of these solid materials arenÌt solid in nature. For example, the sun and the stars are not solid; they are made up of gasses held in place by gravity. The sun is incredibly hot and extremely dangerous if you get close to it. Is there anything about Mr. Hare's sun that looks dangerous? Clouds arenÌt solid either, and planes fly through them all the time! They're gas made of tiny water droplets (like fog). When the droplets get heavy enough, it rains. You can feel rain, but it's liquid, not solid. Why do you think Mr. Hare calls this sculpture Sunrise? Can you come up with a weather forecast made to describe one hour after sunrise? What would a sculpture of that forecast look like?