The Concrete Network

Using his revolutionary colored concrete process, internationally renowned artist Steven Weitzman designed, fabricated and installed three dynamic 7.5' x 8.5' terrazzo murals at the new College of Medicine facility at Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee, FL.

Steven Weitzman has been creating outdoor terrazzo and controlled colored concrete murals for decades. Tired of the mediums available, Weitzman transformed a traditional flooring material into an innovative new art medium. His beautiful artistic murals can be installed indoors or outdoors for building facades, sidewalks, benches, countertops and many more applications.

By eliminating the expensive metal dividers that normally separate color fields, Weitzman can combine colors to create a gentle gradation of tone and hue or control them for rigid color separation. He transforms any design, text, portrait, symbol, or anything, at any scale, into a stunning terrazzo mural.

As a successful artist in figurative sculpture and large scale public art, Weitzman brings an artistic sensibility to every terrazzo project. His color palette is restricted only by his unlimited imagination. Evocative of Georges Seurat and his scientific innovations in pointillism (or divisionism), Weitzman specially formulates his color palette for each project. The tiny stone fragments and the background color matrix combine to create complex color fields composed of tiny dots of color that transcend the traditional painter's palette.

"Everyone loves the panels. They look fantastic, are seamlessly integrated, and add color and dynamism to the facade in a highly original, yet classic-looking medium," said Preston McLane, Associate Curator for the Art in State Buildings/Special Projects at FSU. The challenge for the FSU project was to create a mural that integrated with the classical gothic-inspired architecture but also added a captivating work of art. Through the artistic hands of Steven Weitzman, "Triad of Medicine" achieved both of these goals.

"Triad of Medicine" highlights three historic doctors specific to Florida: Hippocrates of Cos, Elizabeth Blackwell and John Gorrie. Large-scale polished terrazzo panels feature monumental portraits honoring the three selected predecessors of modern medicine. Text and icons specific to each doctor contribute to the portrayals of Hippocrates the father of medicine, John Gorrie the Florida physician and scientist, and Elizabeth Blackwell the first woman to receive an M.D. degree in the United States. The naturalistic portrayals of the three doctors integrate with the Gothic-inspired architecture, yet the strong blue, yellow and sepia colored panels enhance the red brick and white marble facing of the dignified architecture, creating a dynamic entranceway to the College of Medicine building.

Weitzman is currently fabricating his next terrazzo monument: a 6' x 30' mural depicting monumental portraits of Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Duke Ellington and Bessie Smith, a quote by King, and symbols related to these icons of social activism and their impact on Washington DC. This major monument will be included in a fountain and installed in a park at a major DC intersection near the end of 2007.

For more information:

James Handy
Creative Form Liners, Inc.
T: 301-864-3676
F: 301-699-0389
info@creativeformliners.com
www.terrazzo.com