Triforium (Los Angeles) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Triforium |
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| Artist | Joseph Young |
| Year | 1975 |
| Dimensions | 18 m (60 ft); 6.1 m diameter (20 ft) |
| Location | Los Angeles |
| 34°03′15″N 118°14′28″W / 34.054135°N 118.241129°W | |
| Owner | public |
The Triforium is a tall, interesting sculpture in Downtown Los Angeles. It stands 60 feet (about 18 meters) high and is made of concrete. This public artwork features 1,494 colorful Venetian glass prisms and many light bulbs. It also has a special musical instrument called a carillon with 79 bells inside. You can find the Triforium at Fletcher Bowron Square in the Los Angeles Mall. It's located where Temple and Main streets meet in the Civic Center area.
Contents
What is the Triforium?
How the Sculpture Was Created
The architect for the Los Angeles Mall, Robert Stockwell, asked artist Joseph Young to design this sculpture. It was put in place in 1975. Young first imagined the Triforium as a "kinetic sculpture." This means it would move or change.
His idea was for it to use motion sensors and a computer. These would detect people walking by. Then, the sculpture would turn their movements into patterns of light and sound. These patterns would show up on the glass prisms and play through the carillon bells.
Young believed his artwork would become famous. He called it "the Rosetta Stone of art and technology." He also said it was the world's first "polyphonoptic" tower. This big word means it combined many sounds and lights. Young also saw the Triforium as a tribute to Los Angeles itself. He thought the city was always changing and never truly finished.
Original Design Ideas
In its first design, Young wanted the sculpture to shoot laser beams into space. This would have made it the world's first "astronomical beacon." However, there wasn't enough money for this part of the design. The sculpture cost $925,000 to build. It was officially opened on December 12, 1975. There was a small problem with the electricity, so the music part started a little later.
Inside the Triforium
The Triforium has three concrete pillars, each with two legs. These pillars hold up banks of colorful Venetian glass prisms. There are 1,494 prisms in total. The sculpture also had a special electronic carillon. This instrument had 79 glass bells, with two octaves of English bells and two octaves of Flemish bells.
The lights inside the prisms were supposed to work with the carillon's music. The carillon was designed to play all kinds of music. It could play "everything from Beethoven to the Bee Gees." People could play it by hand or a computer could control it. The sound would then come out of speakers built into the Triforium. Sadly, the first computer used to link the lights and music often had problems.
The Triforium's Journey Through Time
Early Years and Challenges
The Triforium stands where the old Bella Union Hotel used to be. This spot might also have been the location of an ancient village called Yaanga. When the Los Angeles Mall first opened, the Triforium was introduced with a lot of excitement. But over time, the sculpture started to break down. It even became a target for jokes.
There's a story that a judge in a nearby courthouse complained. He said the noise from the sculpture's music bothered his trials. He asked city officials to turn it off. For many years, the sculpture had other issues. Its reflection pool at the bottom leaked, and pigeons often made their homes in the structure. People used to say it was "too expensive to fix, but too expensive to tear down."
Nicknames and Reflections
The Triforium earned several nicknames over the years. Some people called it The Psychedelic Nickelodeon. Others named it Trifoolery, or Three Wishbones in Search of a Turkey. It was also known as Kitsch-22 of Kinetic Sculpture, and Joe's L.A. Space Launch.
In 2002, Joseph Young thought about how his sculpture had fallen apart. He said, "At times it was very lonely." He also noted that when you create public art, you have to be ready for strong reactions from people.
Restorations and Modern Updates
After many years of not working, the lights were fixed and turned back on. This happened on December 13, 2006, after a $7,500 repair. The computer that controlled the sound and lights was still going to be replaced. Today, the music you hear from the Triforium speakers comes from an outside source. The original Finkenbeiner Triforium Carillon was taken out and is now owned by someone else.
In 2016, the sculpture got another big upgrade. This was paid for with $100,000 from a grant competition called LA2050. This money came from the Goldhirsh Foundation. This latest upgrade did not fix the original reflecting pool. That's because the water leaks into the Los Angeles Mall below.
After these upgrades, a group of sound and light engineering companies created "The Triforium Project." This project helps put on live musical performances at the sculpture. The most recent ones were in October and November 2018.
