''Engagement'' is a series of sculptures by

Dennis Oppenheim Dennis Oppenheim (September 6, 1938 – January 21, 2011) was an American conceptual artist, performance artist, earth artist, sculptor and photographer. Dennis Oppenheim's early artistic practice is an epistemological questioning about the natu ...

depicting two diamond engagement rings. One version was installed in 2005 at Sunset Beach in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

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, Canada. Others are at the

Nevada Museum of Art The Nevada Museum of Art, is an art museum in Reno, Nevada. Located at 160 West Liberty Street in Reno, it is the only American Alliance of Museums (AAM) accredited art museum in the state of Nevada. The museum has chosen a thematic approach, placi ...

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and

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Description and history

''Engagement'', installed at Sunset Beach in 2005, depicts two diamond engagement rings and stands nearly 30 feet tall. The diamonds, illuminated and tilting away from one another, are composed of translucent plexiglass boxes, steel and aluminum. The Vancouver Biennale described the sculpture as pop art. ''Engagement'' is one of several sculptures by Oppenheim that has been installed in Vancouver:
The Device to Root Out Evil
''an upside-down aluminum church, was installed along the waterfront in

Coal Harbour Coal Harbour is the name for a section of Burrard Inlet lying between Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula and the Brockton Point of Stanley Park. It has also now become the name of the neighbourhood adjacent to its southern shoreline. Neighbourhoo ...

from 2005 to 2008, and
Arriving Home
' was displayed within

Vancouver International Airport Vancouver International Airport is an international airport located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, serving the city of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region. It is located from Downtown Vancouver. It is the second busie ...

as part of the 2009–2011 Vancouver Biennale. During November 11–17, 2007, ''Engagement'' was installed along the waterfront at Laurel and Harbor Drive in San Diego, California.

Interpretation and reception

Oppenheim, who often declines to explain his works, kept the meaning of ''Engagement'' ambiguous on purpose. According to the San Diego Port, the work reminds spectators that "marriage requires a balance between two people with different interests, tastes and backgrounds" and represents the "dichotomy of marriage, expressing the romantic and the melancholy". Debates over

same-sex marriage in Canada Same-sex marriage in Canada was progressively introduced in several provinces by court decisions beginning in 2003 before being legally recognized nationwide with the enactment of the ''Civil Marriage Act'' on July 20, 2005. On June 10, 2003, th ...

were taking place around the time the work was installed in Vancouver.

References

{{West End, Vancouver 2005 establishments in British Columbia 2005 sculptures Outdoor sculptures in Vancouver Pop art Rings (jewellery) West End, Vancouver

Description and history

Interpretation and reception

See also

References