Soaring words for Miami’s pet eagle
by MJ Taylor

Today’s News
Miami Today
Thursday, May 7th, 1987


The Aquila (Latin for eagle) officially landed Friday behind the Barnett Tower. The largest bronze sculpture in North America was dedicated at a 5:30 p.m. ceremony attended by sculptor John Raimondi, his friends, fans and collectors from all over the US as well as an eclectic mix of Miami art patrons and real estate mavens.

For the dedication, Harry Rand, curator of contemporary art for the Smithsonian Institute, praised the “model project.” Putting art in public places, he said, is “how we learn to appreciate beauty.”

Older cultures, he added as the crowd strolled to take elevators up to a reception to on the 30th floor, knew that. “It’s only in the last 20 years that we (in the U.S.) have recognized the impact we have on our environment, and we’re realizing that how we treat our built environment is reflected in the way we treat our natural environment.”

It didn’t seem to bother Mr. Raimondi a bit that some suggested his sculpture looks more like a dinosaur’s ribs than an eagle: If one sees a skeleton, then it will serve as a warning not to destroy the environment.

Aquila is part of Mr.Raimondi’s series of endangered species, all named after constellations. Mr. Raimondi became interested in astronomy in 1979.

“Ancient civilizations looked up to the stars and saw patterns,” he said. “That was the beginning of abstract art.”

Gallery owner Virginia Miller, who commissioned Mr. Raimondi’s work for Barnett Tower’s joint developers, Lincoln Properties and Metropolitan Life, invited the “social set” along with Miami’s movers and shakers.