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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Seventeen: Memories in Metal and Stone: How monuments, sculpture, and tombs express ideas. > Wind Vane, Old State Capitol, Phoenix, Arizona, 2008
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23-OCT-2008

Wind Vane, Old State Capitol, Phoenix, Arizona, 2008

The Old State Capitol opened in 1901, impressively demonstrating that the Arizona Territory was ready for statehood. When Arizona entered the union in 1912, this imposing building housed all branches of its government. The structure is topped with a copper dome, and at its pinnacle is a skylight that illuminates the rotunda below it. At the very top of the dome, a huge wind vane rotates in the form of a sculpted stone “winged victory.” Mounted on the center of skylight, the wind vane can be dimly seen through the glass from three stories below. I use my 400mm telephoto to enlarge detail, and make the huge statue seem larger than life. I frame the sculpture with the diagonal steel arms that hold the dome and skylight together. Those arms echo the outstretched arm of the statue itself. Very few visitors to the old capitol see this sight, since few bring long lenses or binoculars with them. This image does what any good travel picture should do – offering viewers an insight into its subject that they might never be able to experience for themselves.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/500s f/6.3 at 41.5mm iso200 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis27-Oct-2008 20:40
Thanks, Jenene, for seeing the contrasts here, as well as the metaphorical aspects. While everyone looks up as they enter the rotunda, few have the means to see the obscured details of the statue on the wind vane that looms just outside the skylight. At least those that may see this image will have a chance to appreciate what I was able to enjoy.
JSWaters27-Oct-2008 19:47
I would be very disappointed if I had visited this building only to find later I missed seeing this. I love the contrasts of hard linear steel and the feeling of softness and flight of the sculpture. This could also mark the relationship between the need for a solid building to house the government of an emerging state, and the lofty and heady ideas of those who worked so hard to attain it.
Jenene
Phil Douglis27-Oct-2008 02:12
Thanks, Alina -- the image works because of the interplay of detail in the statue with the powerful diagonals that frame it within my own frame.
Alina27-Oct-2008 01:20
I like the framing and details. Brilliant composition.
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