Invitation is the name of the sculpture along the esplanade at the Longview Convention Complex. The rings, which comprise the physical components of Invitation, were created by Dr. Bruce Mauldin and originally installed as the site specific arrangement End of Morning at the Pelaia Plaza JT Smith Memorial Sculpture Garden. Inspired by the nineteenth century German romantic artist Otto Runge’s Tageszeiten, End of Morning was erected in celebration of the Longview Museum of Fine Arts 50th anniversary. After the year-long honor in the sculpture garden, the City of Longview and the Longview Museum of Fine Arts chose a permanent home for the rings at the newly remodeled Maude Cobb Convention Center. Invitation was designed to complement and reflect the new location.
The circle is a form that is both infinitely complex and uniquely simple. Through the imagining and measuring of circles we first plotted the movements in the skies above us and circumnavigated the globe. The circle has brought meaning to our rituals and assisted out religious philosophies. Its form is foundational to mathematics, engineering, astronomy, and physics. From the wheels of our cars to the carousels in our microwave ovens the circle is also part of our daily lives. Often overlooked, Invitation presents the form as a welcoming visual experience for visitors and participants in activities at the Longview Convention Complex. The circles seem to turn and glide back and forth across the esplanade as they lead viewer from the Cotton Street entrance right up to the Convention Center parking lot. Whether enjoying them casually as they drive by or with a contemplative walk along the sidewalk, the rings are intended to entertain and invite, to solicit a smile or to perhaps inspire the next Copernicus.
