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

Sunrise is part of a series of sculptures that relates to the natural world. The series is unusual in that it represents landscape, a subject matter more commonly seen in painting. Intangible, atmospheric effects such as haze, clouds, or reflections are created in painting through the use of illusion. In sculpture, such phenomena are much more difficult, or even impossible, to reproduce. David Hare wrote about this and similar works: "At the time I was living in Cannes in the south of France, the Mediterranean in front, the Maritime Alps behind. The series is all of the sea and the sun, the mountains and sun, the rain and the sky...."

At first, most viewers perceive Sunrise as an extremely abstract sculpture. However, once any one of the elements is identified, the others become clear. The rounded shape with knife-like projections at the top of the work is the sun, rising above a horizontal cloud. The rods extending downward from the cloud represent rain, and the rock at the bottom represents the earth. A crescent moon is one of the largest elements in the work, and Hare has stated that the round object in the center is also a moon. The suspended object composed of metal pieces projecting out in various directions is a star. The metal rods that connect all of the forms are not related to the composition, but are skillfully unobtrusive.

There are a number of interesting contrasts in the sculpture. For example, Hare has included elements of both night and day, appropriate for a work of art representing Sunrise. Some of his objects in reality are solid in form, such as the earth and the moon, while others, such as the sun, star, rain, and clouds are not. There is also a contrast between the smooth, painted steel used to create the cloud, crescent moon, and rain, and the rough bronze that forms the sun, star, and round moon.

— Mariann Smith

SUGGESTIONS FOR HANDS-ON AND RELATED ACTIVITIES

• Discuss solids, liquids, and gases in the natural world. Have each student make a sculpture out of cardboard that includes one of each type of substance.
• Assign each student a date (make sure that they are spread out over the four seasons) and ask them to come up with a weather forecast for their date. Have them create a sculpture describing the forecast using materials such as toothpicks, popsicle sticks, Q-tips, and/or cardboard. Remember to tell students that they need to think about viewing their work from all angles.
• There are many things in the world that are difficult to represent in the visual arts. For example, have students listen to a piece of music and make sketches about what they hear (these sketches may be representational or abstract). Instruct the children in how to make a viewfinder (take a piece of cardboard and cut a square opening measuring 3 x 3Ó). Have each child place his or her viewfinder over their sketch to isolate a 3 x 3Ó detail that intrigues them (the detail could be part of a representational elementÛit will then become abstract). Use the viewfinder to trace a square around the detail. Have the students enlarge their detail on another piece of paper. Play the piece of music again, and ask the students to add color to their enlarged detail drawing as they listen.