Maty G. with sundial models photo: Arik Sultan
On February 2, 2022, at 2:22 in the afternoon, the installation of the sundial sculpture created by the sculptor Maty Grunberg was completed, and the sundial was placed in the entrance plaza of the Madatech Museum - Israel National Museum of Science, Technology and Space, in Haifa.
Photos of the sundial sculpture were taken by photographer Ran Erde.
A work that combines science and art is the most exciting for me. Each sundial sculpture I originate is a new challenge. I create under a limitation - the sundial must meet specific scientific requirements and be accurate in time. The calculations vary from place to place. The scientific requirements oblige me to find creative solutions for the construction of the sculpture. I acknowledge and thank Ilan Manulis, my friend, and talented astronomer, who did the exact scientific calculations.
Beside the sundial - engraved in stone explanatory signs on how to read the time, in three languages - Hebrew, Arabic and English. The engraving was done by Natan Lipshitz from Jerusalem.
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The inspiration for the shape of the Madatech sundial was a lithographic drawing by Picasso - The Bull, and so Haifa's Sun Bull was created.
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I deal with the topic of time obsessively. Trying to decipher its riddle. In our time, in the western world, light pollution affects our ability to see the night sky. This illuminous pollutant eliminates the light of the stars. More often than not time is measured and indicated by digital devices. The connection between humanity, sun, and time, becomes less clear. By creating sundials - I try to capture time in a tangible way. This is impossible, of course, time is formless and completely abstract
Think for a moment about the following numbers; a ray of light coming from the sun travels a distance of about 150 million kilometers from space, at a speed of around 300,000 kilometers per second, and reaches the earth in an average time period of about 8 minutes and 19 seconds. Then that beam of light reaches the sundial sculpture, falls on the dial that casts a shadow on to the scale of numbers, and indicates the time. This sundial is designed and adapted to its geographical location in the plaza of the Medatech Museum in Haifa. It is tilted to the precise angle in line with the latitude of its position - 32 degrees, 48 minutes and 37 seconds north. It is calibrated with great accuracy for its location in Haifa, at longitude 34 degrees, 59 minutes and 47 seconds east of longitude using zero Greenwich Meridian.
Moments captured by the (my) camera at the foundry.
And moments from the day of the placement in the front square of Madatech.
End of the day, placement of the sundial is completed. The artist with the broom...
To date Maty G. have created a number of sundial sculptures, each with its own uniqueness:
• A sundial sculpture that stands in Ascot, England.
• A sundial sculpture that stands in Ascot, England.
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• A sundial sculpture that stands in front of the Hall of Science in Queens, New York.
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• A sundial sculpture that stands in Teddy Park, Jerusalem.
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• A sundial sculpture, North Macedonia, in memory of the Jews who perished in the Holocaust.
Art projects always need supporters. Today maybe more than ever.
A special thank you to the sponsors - Talia and Gad Ze'evi, Meir Shamir, the Aram family from London, in memory of the late Ruth and Ze'ev. Michael Hoffman from Geneva, Professor William McKenna and his wife Nancy from London, and to a dear friend, who has supported many of my works, Lord Marks of Broughton and his late wife Lady Marion Marks. An enormous thank you to our dear friend, with a big heart, Ruth Alon. I would also like to thank a number of anonymous donors.
A special thank you to the sponsors - Talia and Gad Ze'evi, Meir Shamir, the Aram family from London, in memory of the late Ruth and Ze'ev. Michael Hoffman from Geneva, Professor William McKenna and his wife Nancy from London, and to a dear friend, who has supported many of my works, Lord Marks of Broughton and his late wife Lady Marion Marks. An enormous thank you to our dear friend, with a big heart, Ruth Alon. I would also like to thank a number of anonymous donors.
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