BRONZE & STAINLESS AEROSPACE SCULPTURES FOR FROST SCIENCE MUSEUM
Bronze plaques and stainless steel sculpture for Phillip and Patricia Frost Science Museum Feathers to the Stars exhibit on the history of flight, Miami, Florida.
Concept Realizations was hired by the Frost Science Museum to design and manufacture two bronze plaques and a stainless steel sculpture depicting aircraft and aerospace innovators.
The 18” bas relief bronze plaques depict aerospace pioneer Otto Lilienthal and his 1894 glider, and a Mosquito XE experimental helicopter and its designer, John Uptigrove. The 19” stainless steel sculpture is a scale model of a Northrup F-5B “Freedom Fighter” military jet.
Concept Realizations digitally designed 3D models of the glider, helicopter, and jet using photos and 2D technical drawings as guides. Lilienthal and Uptigrove’s likenesses were reproduced from photo references. High-resolution master patterns were 3D printed in laser-cured resin. Silicone molds were made of each, from which wax copies were cast. The waxes were then used in a conventional lost-wax casting process with silicon bronze and surgical-grade stainless steel.
The Frost Science Museum, Miami, opened its doors in early May 2017, and these sculptures are installed directly beneath the full-scale aircraft they are modeled on, which hang from the gallery ceiling. These sculptures are intended to give access to the blind, by enabling visitors to explore the aircrafts’ contours with their hands.
The jet sculpture’s stainless steel finish mirrors the bright silver skin of the original jet overhead. The light brown patinas of the two bronze plaques will slowly develop bright highlights where visitors’ hands polish the bronze, making them more attractive over time while creating a visual record of their use.
All three pieces require no maintenance, and will last many hundreds of years.
