Les Drysdale Autor der Tesla Statue

an den Niagara Fällen (CAN)

E-mail an die Tesla Memorial Society NY

Les Drysdale und Prof.Dr.Ljubo Vujovic von der TMSNY

Dear Tesla Society of New York,

I have been asked to say a few words for the Tesla Society about  my

sculpture of Nicola Tesla in Niagara Falls. The Sculpture has been up for

just over a month now and it has occurred to me that the photographs I have

seen all look great, but I really hope people get the chance to visit the

site and see it in person. I think that if the viewer actually walks up to

and around the work, even touches the sculpture only then will they be able

to see and feel all that went into the work and to understand its full

meaning. Not only is there the experience of the presence of the sculpture

in the setting of Niagara Falls that surpassed even my expectations. There

are also little details that have been placed here and there as rewards to

the inquisitive. You see my greatest challenge was not just to create a

portrait of Tesla that had the physical likeness of the man but to create

something that also said something about his life, his relationship with

Niagara, how he thought, , his amazing accomplishments and give the

sculpture something of the poetic elegance and and theatricality that

permeated everything he put his mind to.

The first impression of the sculpture as you walk toward the falls is that

of the figure of Nikola Tesla facing the falls and he appears to be standing

on top of a motor. On closer inspection you’ll notice that he is not just

standing he is almost mid stride, his weight is shifted slightly on his

right leg as if pausing during a walk. Tesla has a walking stick in his hand

and he is glancing down at something he is drawing and he is standing on

what appears to be flat ground with gravel, leaves and debris at his feet.

These are the first clues as to the overall concept of the sculpture He is

pausing and in the process of creation, giving insight as to how his amazing

mind worked, as most of his inventions were developed from start to precise

completion in his head. As the story goes, the idea for the AC motor was

drawn on the ground during a walk with a friend. I have adapted this story

by creating a natural path on which Tesla is walking. Here my intention is

to show the ‘mystery that is his mind’, developing an abstract idea from the

theoretical to the concrete. Tesla is drawing three sine waves on the ground

that are out of sync by 120 degrees (his revolutionary idea that created AC

electricity, on a oscilloscope AC electricity appears as 3 sine waves  ) The

waves he is drawing flow out and into the real foundation beneath him, the

AC motor, as does the idea become the foundation of every motor and

generator to this day.

As you walk around the sculpture you’ll find a quote of Teslas’ along one

side of the outer housing of the motor. It says , “The possibilities of will

power and self control appeal tremendously to my vivid imagination…. Until

finally my will and wish become identical. They are so today, and in this

lies the secret of whatever success I have achieved. My imaginings were

equivalent to realities.”

                                        Tesla 1915

Also on the ground if you look closely you will find two coins. The one

behind him is a Sebian from 1879 a reminder of origins and around the time

he designed the first Ac motor. The other lies in front of him, a Canadian

coin representing the year he designed the Niagara falls power station. He

is walking from the old world to the new and creating it in the process.

Another little story I found interesting while researching Teslas’ life was

his fondness for  pigeons and doves. There was one in particular that was

his favorite. They seemed to have a special bond. On the occasion that Tesla

had to move apartments in the New Yorker or the Waldorf Astoria where he

lived the bird would always find him.  I have included the dove in the

sculpture just because I thought Tesla might like the thought. I won’t say

where it is and  will leave it for you to find.

Finally I’d like to say what an honour it has been to be afforded the

opportunity to create a monument to such a brilliant man in a place that is

so significant   I have to thank both the St. George Serbian Orthodox Church

in Niagara Falls, and The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) for making it all

possible. When I began this project I had no idea just how much Tesla meant

to so many people and how neglected his contributions to humanity have been.

I only hope that in some small way I have contributed to correcting    this

historical oversight and  created something worthy of such a great man.

I invite any comments you may have. I can be reached by email at

leslie_drysdale@hotmail.com.

Yours sincerely

Les Drysdale      

Sculptor

Text übersetzt in deutsch - click hier »»

Text übersetzt in serbo-kroatisch - click hier »»

This email below was sent from Les Drysdale to the Tesla Memorial Society of New York. In his e-mail Les Drysdale explains his feelings and emotions related to his work on the Tesla Monument and explains important details which were not known before.  The letter, as much as his Tesla Monument, revealed the thoughts of a man behind the sculpture. Subj: Tesla Sculpture
Date: 8/18/2006 1:19:43 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: leslie_drysdale@hotmail.com
To: teslasociety@aol.com
Sent from the Internet(Details)

Autor der Tesla Statue an den kanadischen Niagara Fällen "Les Drysdale"