An uptown art installation hits the half-century mark
The giant bronze disc sculpture at Trade and Tryon streets in uptown turns 50 this month
The following article appeared in the October 7, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
A milestone birthday: ‘Il Grande Disco,’ one of uptown Charlotte’s oldest art installations, turns 50
DISC-OVERING A NEW DECADE: “Il Grande Disco” was one of the first uptown art installations when it took its place on Tryon Street 50 years ago this month.
by Cristina Bolling
In a city that celebrates newness, here’s a birthday worth noting: “Il Grande Disco,” the bronze disc sculpture that stands 15 feet in diameter at the prominent Bank of America Plaza uptown, turns 50 this month.
The art piece, which was dedicated on Oct. 2, 1974, was created by Italian artist Arnaldo Pomodoro and was designed to speak to the growth and energy of the city.
In its early years, the sculpture rotated on an internal axis and could spin with the touch of a hand. Years later, changes were made to make it stationary (some say it was to conform to requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act), and it’s now on a slightly raised platform. There are a handful of other “Il Grande Disco” sculptures installed across the world, including ones in Milan and Chicago.
In the Oct. 3, 1974 edition of the Charlotte Observer, the newspaper’s editorial writers said in a column that the disc “makes a powerful statement. People stand to view it in awe. It looks as if the layout of a city were etched across its polished face, with streets and buildings radiating outward from a central core.”
Anne Low, who created and founded the nonprofit ArtWalks CLT, marveled at how much uptown Charlotte has changed around “Il Grande Disco” in the five decades it was installed.
“Charlotte was a teeny tiny town back then, but boy did it have big ambitions,” Low said. “Having a piece that marks that territory has become very symbolic of what it [Charlotte] would become.”
Low has been an instructor of art appreciation at Central Piedmont Community College for years, and she always made a point to include “Il Grande Disco” when she took students on public art walking tours.
“They always loved that piece — mostly because you can touch it, of course. You can feel the different textures and what [Pomodoro] was trying to say with it,” Low said. “It is a pretty engaging piece. Let’s just say it’s held up.”
➡️ To see “Il Disco Grande” and other uptown art pieces, check out ArtWalks CLT’s self-guided tour of uptown Trade and Tryon artwork.
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