A closer look at The Source, a monumental laser sculpture and The Source – two drawings, Rockne Krebs, 1980.

The Source, Rockne Krebs, The National Mall, Washington, DC, 1980. Commissioned for the 11th International Sculpture Conference Exhibition.

“The name, ‘The Source,’ says Krebs, “refers, of course, to George Washington, to Jefferson’s ideas and Lincoln’s example – but it has a personal meaning, too. This sort of art was first seen here. I began to with lasers here in 1967. In 1969, I made a laser piece outside in the backyard of Phil and Leni Stern’s private house on S Street. In 1974, I did a more ambitious piece for the ‘Art Now’ festival at the Kennedy Center. I called it ‘Irish Light.’” Paul Richard, Switching On the Summer Sky, Rockne Krebs’ Lasers Pierce the Night, The Washington Post, 1980.