Mesa: sandstone and granite; Tunnel: stainless steel with stone stairs; Pyramid: red granite
Type:
Sculptures-Outdoor Sculpture
Sculptures-Earthwork
Sculptures-Site-specific
Sculptures
Owner/Location:
Administered by Ross, Charles P. O. Box 1453 Las Vegas New Mexico 87701
Located Park Spring Ranch Chupinas Mesa, foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Range, 13 miles south of Interstate 25 on Highway 84 San Miguel County New Mexico
Date:
1976-1998
Notes:
Save Outdoor Sculpture, New Mexico survey, 1995.
Image on file.
New Mexican, Oct. 7, 1994, pg. C-4.
The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.
Summary:
Star Axis is an earth and sky sculpture and naked eye observatory located within a mesa. It is based on the phenomenon known as precession, a subtle wobble in the Earth's movement, and its relationship to Polaris, the star which currently marks the North Pole. A sighting tunnel focused on the North Pole and aligned with the Earth's axis ascends the mesa and goes through a pyramidal structure atop the mesa. Stairs inside the tunnel are engraved with dates which range from 11,000 B.C. to 15,000 A.D., the 26,000 year cycle of Polaris's orbit. The steps ascend towards an aperture which frames the night sky. The dates on a step correspond with the obital position of Polaris visible from that step. The pyramidal structure on the mesa casts shadows to mark the solstices. Within the pyramid is an "Hour Chamber," from which a one hour star rotation framed in the north sky can be seen.
