Symphony Park

Smith Center for the Performing Arts

2012

Created especially for the Smith Center for the Performing Arts by British-born, Las Vegas based artist Tim Bavington, Pipe Dream is inspired by the Aaron Copland classic composition "Fanfare for the Common Man." This piece of music was selected by the Smith Center, as it's message resonates with their mission to serve the community.

Written in 1942, Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" was a part of a series of ten fanfares writen for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in response to the US joining World War II. The title's inspiration comes from a speech by then Vice President Henry A. Wallace proclaiming the dawn of the "Century of the Common Man." It premiered at the Cincinnati Music Hall on March 12, 1943, and remains a commonly played work throughout the world.

In his artistic creation process, Tim Bavington uses sheet music to determine the stripe pattern, and a chord wheel to determine the color of each note to match the tone that he wishes to create with his artwork. His work is generally infused with bright colors and geometric patterns.

Although this is Bavington's first large scale outdoor work, he has subsequently created other large scale outdoor pieces for locations across the western United States, including a featured mural during the 2014 "Life is Beautiful" festival.

Tim's roots in Las Vegas are deep; he recieved his Master's degree in Fine Arts from UNLV in 1990, and has returned there as an Associate Professor of Art and the Lenahan Saltman Thomas & Mack Professor.

 

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