Alchemy of the Human Spirit

Just around the corner from my office is the downtown Los Angeles YMCA. There are several art pieces around the building, I've blipped a couple of them. This one always catches my eye. Not sure if it's the bronze and chrome, the background of the city skyline or something else. The piece is called "Alchemy of the Human Spirit" The artist is Michael Zapponi. Here is a little bit about the sculpture from him.

"ALCHEMY OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT" emerged over a period of time - from my long-held desire to work with the human body and to progress into cast bronze. "ALCHEMY" grew from discussions with a valued fine art collector, Morgan Adams, Jr., who requested a special commission for the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles.

My intention was to show the inner focus and intense vision that empowers the athlete. Obviously, with bronze we cannot look directly into the mind of the subject. My task was to make the inner process visible on the outside. To achieve this, I had to place myself in a similar state of mind. I had to focus for long periods of time on creating an excellent image. I had to be willing to re-do any part of the original that did not measure up to the standard I had set for myself. The final result, it seems to me, is worth the effort."