This is just the perfect marriage between a building, which was designed by Marcel Breuer,
and the design of that building. It's uncanny how the details of the facade of that building
speak to the details on this sculpture. It's almost like it was done as a collaboration.
And of course it was not. My name is Hubert Phipps. I'm a sculptor and a painter as well.
And it's five, four, three,
two, one. We have ignition. We have lift off. Lift off in 41 minutes past the hour.
Rocket is monumental in scale. And when I conceived of this project, I had no idea
that we were going to make it of this size. All my work is, comes from a sketch, very traditional
way of making art. And I select one of these sketches and I'll go and take it to the next step
and usually work it out in three dimensions via a clay model. We scan that clay model.
I took it into a 3D computer program and we worked it there and I was able to get some
really good results in the computer. And based on that 3D model, I had some size rockets made
and they were part of an exhibition that I had down at the Coral Springs Museum of Art.
I had no idea that, that we would do anything further with it. I had some ideas for some follow
on rocket designs. Urban Litman of the Boca Raton Museum of Art came by the exhibition.
And when he saw the rocket, his eyes lit up and he informed me that the museum had started an art in
public places initiative, and that they would like to consider this rocket in a larger size
for that initiative. And they had a particular property in mind. And so that's how it came about
to be what it is today, which is 30 feet tall, installed at the Boca Raton Innovation Campus.
The rocket has a particular style. Some people refer to Italian futurism as the artistic
aesthetic that that it speaks to. There's a lot of underlying influences. Aviation has been a big
part of my life. I grew up in the late '60s, early '70s where the space program was really
starting to get going. And I just love the shapes of rockets. I love the shapes of airplanes.
I started flying when I turned 16, I still fly today. It's just such a part of my life. And to
be able to produce a work of art that speaks to, you know, the innovation, the technology and the
science that we, at least in my life that we've witnessed, you know, powered flight, you know,
it just got going in the early part of the 20th century with Wilbur and Orville Wright.
And look where we are today. And now this renewed interest with space travel
And the liftoff.
This is exciting time. And I think it all had an influence for me to produce this sculpture.