An aerospace engineering professional based in Los Angeles, California, Mark Thek is the president of Esterline Power Systems, an international company that provides power distribution systems to aerospace and rail programs around the world. Outside of his work in the aerospace sector, Mark Thek is an author and the nephew of distinguished artist Paul Thek. Though he passed away at the young age of 54, Paul Thek’s legacy endures in his art pieces, several of which are on display at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC. Among the Thek pieces on display at the Hirshhorn Museum is Fishman, a sculpture that made its debut at the arts center in 1968. Made from a natural rubber and latex cast of the artist’s body, Fishman depicts a swimming man supported by fish that swim along the length of his body. Because the fish has historically been a biblically based symbol for Jesus Christ, many interpret the sculpture’s message as one of resurrection. While the sculpture originally sported a flesh-like tone and texture, time has worn away at its material, darkening the color of the art piece and hardening the latex to the point of crumbling. Restoration professionals from the Hirshhorn treated the sculpture in 2010 for the Whitney Museum of American Art’s exhibition Paul Thek, Diver: A Retrospective. Comments are closed.
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AuthorPresident of Esterline Power Systems - Mark Thek Archives
February 2021
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