homage
Sam Rodia died on the sixteenth of July in 1965. That same summer the first sculptors symposium in the United States was organized on the
campus of California State University at Long Beach. One of the participants was
the
Dutch sculptor Joop Beljon, at that time also
the director of the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague.
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Beljon visited Sam Rodia's Towers
during his stay in Long Beach. He dedicated his sculpture to Sam Rodia and showed his appreciation of Rodia's
life work by depicting
hearts on one of the
concrete elements making up his sculpture - just like the numerous hearts which
appear on the floors, walls and structures making up the Watts Towers
installation itself.
In this way the two works - Beljon's 'wall' and Rodia's Towers - were united
with this universal symbol about which Sam Rodia is said to have answered a
question about what the hearts symbolize with "You know!".
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Numerous artists have made their tribute to
Sam Rodia in one way or another. Please send your images to lucien at denarend
dot com to be reviewed for inclusion into these pages.
Other artists inspired by Simon Rodia's Watts Towers
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