# data[].attributes.headline
The Problem of Infinite Towers- Inspiration

# data[].attributes.subject
The Problem of Infinite Towers- Inspiration

# data[].attributes.body
"Al- Hadid makes complex sculptures that seem in a state of flux, suggesting both incompletion and decay. Underlying her large-scale, baroque forms are a wide array of influences, including ancient Biblical and mythological narratives, Arab oral traditions, Gothic church construction, Western painting, Islamic ornamentation, and scientific advances in physics and astronomy.”

(http://www.dianaalhadid.com/)

Focusing on Al-Hadid's sculptural work from 2006-2011, I chose pieces that combine mythology with scientific discoveries using the imagery of towers.  With each of these works there are references to universal language, sounds, and structures.  Overlapping visual elements include feet, pipe organs, and honeycombs.

1- AL-HADID, DIANA. “Tala Madani.” BOMB, no. 109 (2009): 50–51.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/27944609.
2-“Diana Al.” Hadid. Accessed November 6, 2021. http://www.dianaalhadid.com/.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
2009steel, fiberglass, resin, polystyrene, high-density foam, pigment180 x 192 x 192 inches 457.2 x 487.7 x 487.7 cm

# data[].attributes.body
Because of the mobility and immensity of this tower, I feel the work would need to be outside the exhibit.

The tower is half- Built to symbolize a lot of Al-Hadid’s feelings about the city of Dubai, but she was hesitant to call this work a social commentary.  The whole time the piece was being built, she was welding outdoors and noticed that a lot of people in the city had never seen a female welder before.

1- “Diana Al.” Hadid. Accessed November 6, 2021. http://www.dianaalhadid.com/.
2- Aberly, Suzanne and Ansel. “Creating a Spatial and Psychological Terrain Artist Diana Al-Hadid.”Nasher Sculpture Center , 22 Oct. 2011, http://www.nashersculpturecenter.org/360.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
2006wood, polystyrene, plaster, fiberglass, pigment72 x 64 x 64 inches 182.9 x 162.6 x 162.6 cm

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
2006wood, polystyrene, plaster, fiberglass, pigment72 x 64 x 64 inches 182.9 x 162.6 x 162.6 cm

# data[].attributes.headline
Spun of the Limits of my Lonely Waltz - Detail

# data[].attributes.subject
Spun of the Limits of my Lonely Waltz - Detail

# data[].attributes.body
Al-Hadid created the base for this sculpture by painting her feet and dancing the waltz with a male partner. A spire of the building was added wherever there was a footprint, the female footsteps became towers, and the male footsteps became buttresses. This work is an excellent place to start because Al-Hadid felt as though this was a turning point for her. She was much less precious with the work compared to previous forms and felt as though she was getting to the center of economy of space - viewing her work as “wall” and “non-wall.” Because the waltz was a square plan, the building was very angular. She imagined the work going to distant places with the feet pointing to the heavens.

1- “Diana Al.” Hadid. Accessed November 6, 2021. http://www.dianaalhadid.com/.
2- Aberly, Suzanne and Ansel. “Creating a Spatial and Psychological Terrain Artist Diana Al-Hadid.”Nasher Sculpture Center , 22 Oct. 2011, http://www.nashersculpturecenter.org/360.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
2007wood, plaster, fiberglass, polystyrene, plastic, cardboard, pigment120 x 156 x 168 inches 304.8 x 398.8 x 426.7 cm

# data[].attributes.body
“Portal to a black hole” came out of the question, 'without an entrance, what would a black hole look like in architectural terms?' Al-Hadid became very interested in pipe organs during this time as well, and even though there is no sound in this work, there are allusions to sound. Black holes emanate a B flat note, six octaves below middle C.

Just as black holes are often seen as twisting portals, Al-Hadid sought to make a bridge to an imagined place while alluding to historical Gothic architecture, as seen in the buttresses and vertical architectural emphasis. The blown-out dome and spiral staircase reference black holes as well because of the intricate twists and turns of the structure.

1- “Diana Al-Hadid: Artists: USF Graphicstudio: Institute for Research in Art.”

Diana Al-Hadid | Artists | USF Graphicstudio | Institute for Research in Art.

Accessed November 6, 2021.

http://www.graphicstudio.usf.edu/gs/artists/al-hadid_diana/al-hadid.html.
2- Aberly, Suzanne and Ansel. “Creating a Spatial and Psychological Terrain Artist Diana Al-Hadid.”Nasher Sculpture Center , 22 Oct. 2011, http://www.nashersculpturecenter.org/360.
3- “Diana Al.” Hadid. Accessed November 6, 2021. http://www.dianaalhadid.com/.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
2008steel, polystyrene, polymer gypsum, fiberglass, wood, plastic, concrete, pigment144 x 100 x 80 inches 365.8 x 254 x 203.2 cm

# data[].attributes.body
Material is essential to this work. There is wood, carved foam, resin, and honeycombs. It has more color than the other works because of the dyed resin pieces.

1- “Diana Al.” Hadid. Accessed November 6, 2021. http://www.dianaalhadid.com/.
2- Aberly, Suzanne and Ansel. “Creating a Spatial and Psychological Terrain Artist Diana Al-Hadid.”Nasher Sculpture Center , 22 Oct. 2011, http://www.nashersculpturecenter.org/360.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
2008 polymer gypsum, steel, plaster, fiberglass, wood, polystyrene, cardboard, wax, pigmentLarge Element: 174 x 99 x 95 inches, 442 x 251.5 x 241.3 cm

# data[].attributes.body
Combining stories and science, the “Tower of infinite Problems” was first of many works to represent the biblical Tower of Babble. Al-Hadid imagined it would be honeybees who would be the ones to build the tower, and to demonstrate this, honeycombs are integrated within the work. As the viewer walks around the art, they pull up the building with them, which is literally torn from the floor.

There is also inspiration taken from the hydrogen collider/particle accelerator, as people traveled from all around the world to build the seemingly impossible creation. The center of the particle accelerator looks like the center of Al-Hadid's sculpture.

1- Aberly, Suzanne and Ansel. “Creating a Spatial and Psychological Terrain Artist Diana Al-Hadid.”Nasher Sculpture Center , 22 Oct. 2011, http://www.nashersculpturecenter.org/360.
2- JUNGERBERG, TOM, ANNA SMITH, and COLLEEN BORSH. “Diana Al-Hadid:

Identity and Heritage.” Art Education 65, no. 6 (2012): 25–32.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/23392059.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
2008polymer gypsum, steel, plaster, fiberglass, wood, polystyrene, cardboard, wax, pigment126 x 157 x 133 inches 320 x 398.8 x 337.8 cm

# data[].attributes.body
"The Problem of Infinite Towers," is based on the previous work, “Tower of infinite problems,” except it is a docking station and not a particle accelerator. There is the reoccurring theme of columns, except they are melting.

This is one of many future projects based on a series of drawings such as the one in the background of the exhibit.

1- Aberly, Suzanne and Ansel. “Creating a Spatial and Psychological Terrain Artist Diana Al-Hadid.”Nasher Sculpture Center , 22 Oct. 2011, http://www.nashersculpturecenter.org/360.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
2008polymer gypsum, steel, polystyrene, fiberglass, cardboard, wax, pigment58 x 56 x 75 inches 147.3 x 142.2 x 190.5 cm

# data[].attributes.body
This is the first work seen in the last room because Al-Hadid considers this as her ‘key.’ It is both the beginning and end of towers. Inspired by a drawing, the bottom is made from the top, and they are built of the same materials. They are quite literally a reflection of each other.

I believe there may be an allusion to Narcissus’s Pond within this work due to her consistent metaphors involving Greek Tragedy and Mythology.

1- “Diana Al.” Hadid. Accessed November 6, 2021. http://www.dianaalhadid.com/.
2- Aberly, Suzanne and Ansel. “Creating a Spatial and Psychological Terrain Artist Diana Al-Hadid.”Nasher Sculpture Center , 22 Oct. 2011, http://www.nashersculpturecenter.org/360.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
2007wood, fiberglass, steel, plaster, cardboard, pigment68 x 56 x 104 inches 172.7 x 142.2 x 264.2 cm

# data[].attributes.body
“All the stops” comes from a term associated with pipe organs in which the organ releases large amounts of air and sound. Typically, “all the stops” are sounded in the final moments of a performance. The piece is made from a pipe organ and was made to discuss Greek tragedy. This is seen in how Al-Hadid built the work to look like the Roman Coliseum. Al-Hadid describes the work as “white and quiet,” as if someone were sitting and watching death.

1- “Diana Al.” Hadid. Accessed November 6, 2021. http://www.dianaalhadid.com/.
2- Aberly, Suzanne and Ansel. “Creating a Spatial and Psychological Terrain Artist Diana Al-Hadid.”Nasher Sculpture Center , 22 Oct. 2011, http://www.nashersculpturecenter.org/360.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
2008polystyrene, polymer gypsum, steel, aluminum leaf, pigment60 x 48 x 90 inches 

# data[].attributes.body
This work is based on the Tower of Babble Eating itself. It seeks to show that people will eventually be the destruction of themselves.

1- Aberly, Suzanne and Ansel. “Creating a Spatial and Psychological Terrain Artist Diana Al-Hadid.”Nasher Sculpture Center , 22 Oct. 2011, http://www.nashersculpturecenter.org/360.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
2011polymer gypsum, fiberglass, wood, steel, aluminum foil, pigment120 x 240 x 156 inches 304.8 x 609.6 x 396.2 cmPhoto Credit: Jason Wyche

# data[].attributes.body
Out of all the work included in this exhibit, this is the most recent and the last piece a viewer would see. Al-Hadid discussed that she began to work more from painting, and in this sculpture, it is supposed to be both a floating pedestal and melting figure

This is one of the only works within this show that includes a figure, which I believe is an extension of Al-Hadid’s metaphors involving feet (referencing people taking off their shoes within Mosques or in the presence of God). The work is a triangle as well, which is the strongest shape.

1- “Diana Al-Hadid.” Diana Al-Hadid - 39 Artworks, Bio &amp; Shows on Artsy.

Accessed November 6, 2021. https://www.artsy.net/artist/diana-al-hadid.
2- “Diana Al.” Hadid. Accessed November 6, 2021. http://www.dianaalhadid.com/.
3- Aberly, Suzanne and Ansel. “Creating a Spatial and Psychological Terrain Artist Diana Al-Hadid.”Nasher Sculpture Center , 22 Oct. 2011, http://www.nashersculpturecenter.org/360.

# data[].attributes.body
Diana Al-Hadid was born in Aleppo Syria in 1981 and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.  She received a BFA in Sculpture and a BA in art History from Kent State University in 2003, and her MFA in Sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth university in 2005.

She has experience teaching, as well as received various residencies, awards, and grants.  Some of these include the Joan Mitchell Grant, Louis Comfort Tiffany Grant, A New York Foundation for the Arts Grant, and Pollock- Krasner Grant. Her Mosaic Murals for NYC’s Penn Station were among 100 finalists for CODA awards, and she was an Academy of Arts and Letters Art Award recipient in 2020.

Al-Hadid has many inspirations including incompletion and decay as it relates to architecture.  She weaves through biblical and mythological narratives with this ambiguity of form.  Her work, because of its state of flux, decontextualizes the historical circumstances and allows history to be more objectively seen.  Her pieces emphasize movement and the passing of time through Gothic and Islamic inspirations.

1- “Diana Al-Hadid Featured on Vogue Italia Cover.” Kent State University.

Accessed November 6, 2021. https://www.kent.edu/art/news/diana-al-hadid-

featured-vogue-italia-cover.
2- “Diana Al-Hadid.” MOCA. Accessed November 6, 2021.

https://mocajacksonville.unf.edu/artists/Diana-Al-Hadid/.
3-“Diana Al-Hadid.” Art21. Accessed November 6, 2021.

https://art21.org/artist/diana-al-hadid/.
4- “Diana Al.” Hadid. Accessed November 6, 2021. http://www.dianaalhadid.com/.