Kelly's Page of Le Chant des Voyelles (Song of the Vowels)

Le Chant des Voyelles (Song of the Vowels), is a sculpture that follows me from school to school. This is my page about it.

By Jacques Lipchitz, 1891 - 1973. American, born in Lithuania.

The sculpture has at least 7 copies, and was made in 1931-1932. There are sculptures at Cornell, Princeton, UCLA, Stanford, Kykuit Gardens in Tarrytown, N.Y., and La Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges-Pompidou, Paris -- and maybe more. It was originally created as a garden sculpture for Madame de Maudrot’s home at Le Pradet, which had been designed by Le Corbusier. [ref] [ref]

Song of the Vowels is one of a series of sculptures in which Lipchitz explored his `obsession’ with the harp.... Lipchitz commented in 1946 on the poetic title of the sculpture: "The title has no connection with the famous poem of Rimbaud, but rather with a legend of ancient Egypt, according to which it appears there existed a prayer, the Song of the Vowels, which the priests and priestesses made use of to conjure up the forces of nature." [ref]

In Song of the Vowels, Cubist principles of structure and form are fully realized. The vision of "transparency," produces spatial tensions through open penetrations that puncture the blocklike mass of bronze to create a sense of lightness and a soaring elegance. [ref]

"Song of the Vowels" illustrates the symbiosis of the human body and a harp. A human couple becomes a harp, their union becomes music. [ref]

Jacques Lipchitz was a devotee of Cubism at its most extreme. His stylized figures are like abstract arabesques, twining in and out of each other in a breathtaking entanglement. [ref]

Places to see the statue

Cornell University Location: between Olin and Uris Libraries At Cornell University Jack Squier was instrumental in getting this sculpture to Cornell. "Squier's energies at Cornell extended not just to the art department but also to the Andrew Dickson White Museum of Art, where he served as curator of sculpture from 1959 to 1962. During those three years, he organized a major retrospective exhibition of the work of Jacques Lipchitz, on the occasion of the artist's seventieth birthday. Squier had admired Lipchitz's sculpture for a long time and had watched much of it being created, when both artists worked at the Modern Art Foundry, in New York City, during the 1950s and 1960s. The exhibition was a major retrospective of Lipchitz's most important pieces, and the artist came to Cornell for the gala opening. Afterward, Squier suggested to William R. Keast, then vice president for academic affairs, that Cornell acquire a Lipchitz sculpture for the campus. Keast broached the subject to brothers Harold and Percy Uris, major benefactors of the university. They decided to purchase Song of the Vowels, for a spot outside Uris Library. Persuaded by Lipchitz himself, they also purchased The Bather, for a site inside Olin Library." [ref] The Song of The Vowels sculpture was removed from its foundation on April 27, 2006, so work can be done to repair moisture damage and corrosion. Preliminary work began on April 19 to prepare the sculpture for transport. The sculpture will be taken to an off-campus location until repairs are completed. The statue, officially Le Chant des Voyelles, by the sculptor Jacques Lipchitz, was the gift of Harold D. Uris and Percy Uris to the Library in 1962. [ref] [ref]
Princeton University Location: between Firestone Library and the University Chapel At Princeton University Today, residents and students might take the artwork for granted. In 1969, however, when Song of the Vowels was installed as the first of 21 pieces, the placement of large sculpture in a university setting was an innovation. "It was one of the earliest uses of sculpture on a campus," says Allen Rosenbaum, director of the Art Museum at Princeton. Other colleges and universities have since integrated sculpture into their campuses, but Princeton's collection is still considered to be one of the most dramatic permanent displays of major twentieth-century sculpture. [ref] Bronze. Height: 10 feet. Executed and installed in 1969. Number 7 of an edition of 7. Inscribed on top of the base: "7/7 J. Lipchitz 1931-32". [ref]
UCLA Close-up from front (at UCLA) Close-up from side (at UCLA)
Stanford Location: Parking structure 4, between Welch Plaza and Lucas Center (MSLS); Stanford University Map of Sculptures Aluminum. 1931.	picture
Kykuit Gardens Location: Tarrytown, NY 10591 Kykuit Estate webpage / ISC's Kykuit webpage Kykuit, completed in 1913 for John D. Rockefeller and home to four generations of the Rockefeller family, sits high above the eastern banks of the Hudson River over looking the Palisades. Within the gardens of Kykuit are two distinct collections of sculpture. The fountains, wellheads and classical figures - from ancient and Renaissance models or by American sculptors of the early 20th century - were assembled between 1906 and 1913 by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and landscape architect William Welles Bosworth. In 1963, Governor Nelson Rockefeller elaborated upon this tradition and brought to Kykuit works by Lachaise, Arp, Lipchitz, Marini and Giacometti, beginning the collection of modern sculpture that graces the park today. [ref]
Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris The sculpture seems to belong to the Pompidou branch (in Paris), but is located in the Lille branch (in Villeneuve d'Ascq). Musée d'Art Moderne Lille Métropole (in Villeneuve d'Ascq) acquired it in 1993. [ref] [ref] Webpage of Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges-Pompidou Webpage of Musée d'Art Moderne Lille Métropole, Villeneuve d'Ascq A film devoted to the Song of the vowels (1932), monumental work belonging to the Pompidou Center, national Museum of modern art which is deposited in the garden of sculptures of the museum of modern art of Villeneuve d' Asq since 1993, is presented in a showroom. It is about a realization of Christian Bahier for the audio-visual service of the Pompidou Center. [ref]	picture
HARPA Award The signet of the HARPA AWARD is based on the 380 cm high sculpture «Song of the Vowels» (1931-32) by Jacques Lipchitz (1891-1973). See also the cover illustration of HARPA No. 1 (1991). «Song of the Vowels» illustrates the symbiosis of the human body and a stringed instrument, in this case a harp. A human couple becomes a harp, their union becomes music. [ref] With the HARPA AWARD, the editorial staff of HARPA Harp Journal honours those persons, firms or institutions, musical editions, CDs, books, events or web sites that contribute in an exceptional way to the advancement of the harp. The prizewinners receive support and publicity in HARPA and on the web site «HARPA Web». [ref]
Kröller-Müller Museum Museum webpage Location: Houtkampweg 6, Otterio, Gelderland 6730 AA Netherlands The Sculpture Garden has works by Jean Dubuffet, Claes Oldenburg, Henry Moore, Chaim J. Lipchitz, Mark di Suvero, Auguste Rodin, Lucio Fontana, André Volten, Carel N. Visser, Barbara Hepworth, Evert Strobos, Kenneth Snelson, Fritz Wotruba and Aristide Maillol.
Zürich, Switzerland Location: Heimplatz; 8001 Zürich [ref]; Station: Kunsthaus [ref] Tooltip on picture at this website reads: "Einheit Kugel und endlose Spirale" [ref]