Thomas Jefferson Park

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Tomorrow's Wind

History

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found postedwithin the park.

New Jersey-based African American sculptor Melvin Edwards (b. 1937) created this abstract welded steel piece. The polished disk and crescent-like shape are indicative of the sculptor’s large-scale public art pieces, which tend to feature immense shapes that conjure up images from the natural world.

Edwards designed the polished disk to be tilted so it can reflect sunlight as the sun moves across the sky during the day. The installation of this piece was sponsored by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs’s Percent for Art program. Tomorrow’s Wind was first installed at Central Park’s Doris C. Freedman Plaza before it was moved to Thomas Jefferson Park permanently in 1995.

Another of Edwards’ works, Double Circles (1968), can be seen outside Upper Manhattan’s Bethune Tower housing project. Edwards’ sculpture is also featured at the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. His small-scale work uses found objects such as chain links to comment on violence in political and historical issues such as slavery and racism.

Photo of Tomorrow's Wind sculpture in Thomas Jefferson Park

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Tomorrow's Wind Details

Location: behind Recreation Center and pool
Sculptor: Melvin Edwards
Architect: Miceli Kulik Williams
Description: Plate segments sandwiched together and filled with grid
Materials: Plate segments--#304 stainless steel; grid--iron
Dimensions: H:13'6" W: 13' D: 8'; plate segments W: 2-4" D: ¼"; base diameter 14'
Cast: ca. 1990
Dedicated: July 27, 1995
Fabricator: Melvin Edwards
Donor: Percent for Art, New York City

Please note, the NAME field includes a primary designation as well as alternate namingsoften in common or popular usage. The DEDICATED field refers to the most recent dedication, most often, butnot necessarily the original dedication date. If the monument did not have a formal dedication, the yearlisted reflects the date of installation.

For more information, please contact Art & Antiquities at (212) 360-8163