douglas Kornfeld
"Gordian Knot"- 2008
Stainless Steel - 8' x 8' x 8' - Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO.
"Gordian Knot" was commissioned for the Center for Teaching and Learning Media at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado.
The Gordian Knot is a legend associated with Alexander the Great. In 333 BC, wintering his army at Gordian, in what is now central Turkey, Alexander attempted to untie the Gordian Knot. The legend claimed that whoever untangled the Gordian Knot would rule Asia. Finding no ends to the knot, or a way to unbind it, he sliced it in half with his sword. Alexander went on to conquer Asia, fulfilling the prophecy.
The term "Cutting through the Gordian Knot" is today often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem, solved by a single bold stroke. Students are often called upon to learn and solve complicated problems. The best discover new and bold solutions. These discoveries are analogous to Alexander's cutting the Gordian Knot.
