Welcome to the Tesla Memorial Society of New York Website
Les Drysdale, famous sculptor of the Tesla Monument in Niagara Falls, wrote a letter to the Tesla Memorial Society of New York to express his feelings about the Tesla Monument
Above: Tesla Monument at Niagara Falls unveiled on July 9, 2006. Tesla is standing atop an AC motor, one of the 700 inventions he patented.
Above: Les Drysdale, the famous Tesla monument sculptor with Dr. Ljubo Vujovic, General Secretary Tesla Memorial Society of New York, at the unveiling ceremony.
Above: Tesla Monument at Niagara Falls unveiled on July 9, 2006. Tesla is standing atop an AC motor, one of the 700 inventions he patented. In the background is Niagara Falls, Canadian side.
This email below was sent from Les Drysdale to the Tesla Memorial Society of New York. In his e-mail Les Drysdale explains his feelings and emotions related to his work on the Tesla Monument and explains important details which were not known before. The letter, as much as his Tesla Monument, revealed the thoughts of a man behind the sculpture.
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Hello Dr. Vujovic
I have just sent some comments on the Tesla sculpture that you are more
than
welcome to use on your web sight. I hope it is what you were looking for.
Let me know of any changes you might want to include. Sorry for the
delay.
I have been very swamped with work.
Hope you and your family are well.
All the best
Les
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Dear Tesla Society of New York,
I have been asked to say a few words for the Tesla Society about my
sculpture of Nikola Tesla in Niagara Falls. The Sculpture has been up for
just over a month now and it has occurred to me that the photographs I
have
seen all look great, but I really hope people get the chance to visit the
site and see it in person. I think that if the viewer actually walks up to
and around the work, even touches the sculpture only then will they be
able
to see and feel all that went into the work and to understand its full
meaning. Not only is there the experience of the presence of the sculpture
in the setting of Niagara Falls that surpassed even my expectations. There
are also little details that have been placed here and there as rewards to
the inquisitive. You see my greatest challenge was not just to create a
portrait of Tesla that had the physical likeness of the man but to create
something that also said something about his life, his relationship with
Niagara, how he thought, , his amazing accomplishments and give the
sculpture something of the poetic elegance and and theatricality that
permeated everything he put his mind to.
The first impression of the sculpture as you walk toward the falls is that
of the figure of Nikola Tesla facing the falls and he appears to be
standing
on top of a motor. On closer inspection you’ll notice that he is not just
standing he is almost mid stride, his weight is shifted slightly on his
right leg as if pausing during a walk in a Budapest Park. Tesla has a walking
stick in his
hand
and he is glancing down at something he is drawing and he is
standing on
what appears to be flat ground with gravel, leaves and debris at his
feet.
These are the first clues as to the overall concept of the sculpture He is
pausing and in the process of creation, giving insight as to how his
amazing
mind worked, as most of his inventions were developed from start to
precise
completion in his head. As the story goes, the idea for the AC motor was
drawn on the ground during a walk with a friend. I have adapted this story
by creating a natural path on which Tesla is walking. Here my intention is
to show the ‘mystery that is his mind’, developing an abstract idea from
the
theoretical to the concrete. Tesla is drawing three sine waves on the
ground
that are out of sync by 120 degrees (his revolutionary idea that created
AC
electricity; on a oscilloscope AC electricity appears as 3 sine waves)
The
waves he is drawing flow out and into the real foundation beneath him, the
AC motor, as does the idea become the foundation of every motor and
generator to this day.
As you walk around the sculpture you’ll find a quote of Tesla's along one
side of the outer housing of the motor. It says , “The possibilities of
will
power and self control appeal tremendously to my vivid imagination…. Until
finally my will and wish become identical. They are so today, and in this
lies the secret of whatever success I have achieved. My imaginings were
equivalent to realities.”
Tesla 1915
Also on the ground if you look closely you will find two coins. The one
behind him is a Serbian coin from 1879 a reminder of origins and around the time
he designed the first Ac motor. The other lies in front of him, a Canadian
coin representing the year he designed the Niagara falls power station. He
is walking from the old world to the new and creating it in the process.
Another little story I found interesting while researching Tesla's life
was
his fondness for pigeons and doves. There was one in particular that was
his favorite. They seemed to have a special bond. On the occasion that
Tesla
had to move apartments in the New Yorker or the Waldorf Astoria where he
lived the bird would always find him. I have included the dove in the
sculpture just because I thought Tesla might like the thought. I won’t say
where it is and will leave it for you to find.
Finally I’d like to say what an honor it has been to be afforded the
opportunity to create a monument to such a brilliant man in a place that
is
so significant I have to thank both the St. George Serbian Orthodox
Church
in Niagara Falls, and The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) for making it all
possible. When I began this project I had no idea just how much Tesla
meant
to so many people and how neglected his contributions to humanity have
been.
I only hope that in some small way I have contributed to correcting
this
historical oversight and created something worthy of such a great man.
I invite any comments you may have. I can be reached by email at
leslie_drysdale@hotmail.com.
Yours sincerely
Les Drysdale Sculptor
Letter from Les Drysdale translated into
Serbian:
(translated by Dr. Ljubo Vujovic and Zeljko Saric)
Ovo pismo je uputio Les Drysdale, vajar, koji je izradio Teslin spomenik na Kanadskoj strani Niagarinih Vodopada.
Spomenik je otkriven 9. Jula 2006 godine.
Pismo je upuceno Teslinom Memorijalnom Drustvu Njujorka Avgusta 18, 2006,
Drago Teslino Udruzenje,
Ja sam bio zamoljen da kazem nekoliko reci za Teslino Drustvo o mojoj skulpturi Nikole Tesle na Vodopadima Niagare. Taj spomenik je postavljen nesto vise od mesec dana I fotografije od tog spomenika koje sam ja video su zaista divne, ali Ja se nadam da ce narod imati prilike da vidi taj spomenik licno na Niagari. Ja mislim da gledaoci koji posmatraju taj spomenik uzivo ili imaju prilike da ga dodirnu, tek ce onda osetiti kako je spomenik uradjen I razumece znacaj tog spomenika. Postavljanje spomenika na Niagari prevazisla su moja ocekivanja. Veoma je malo detalja koji su uoceni na spomeniku I zato ce onaj koji otkrije te detalje imati zadovoljstvo kao nagradu. Moja najveca ideja je da taj spomenik ne samo prezentuje portret Nikole Tesle I slicnost sa njim, nego I da taj spomenik otkrije nesto od Teslinog zivota I njegov odnos prema Niagari kako je on to zamisljao. A takodje da reprezentuje njegova ogromna ostvarenja I zeleo sam da dam spomeniku poeticnu elelganciju vezanu za sva njegova otkrica koje je on izumeo.
Prva impresija spomenika kada pridjes je figura Nikole Tesle koji gleda na Vodopade Nijagare, gde Tesla stoji na vrhu indukcionog motora. Kad se malo vise posmatra vidi se da on ne samo stoji na indukcionom motoru nego da se Teslina tezina oslanja na njegovu desnu nogu I da on pozira u tome stavu. Tesla ima stap u ruci I on gleda zamisljeno na osnovu po kojoj gazi a koja izgleda ravna I pokrivena liscem I zemljom. To je prva impresija o konceptu spomenika. On pozira u procesu razmisljanja I dobijamo utisak kako njegov genijalni um stvara, jer su vecina njegovih izuma od pocetka do kraja u potpunosti kompletirani u njegovom pamcenju (viziji). Po legendi Teslina ideja o indukcionom motoru bila je nacrtana na zemlji kada je hodao sa svojim prijateljem u parku u Budimpesti. Ja sam prihvatio tu legendu I kreirao sam put kojim je Tesla isao. Ovde sam zeleo da izrazim “misteriju njegovog uma” koja razvija apstraktnu ideju od teorijskog do konkretnog rezultata. Tesla je nacrtao na zemlji tri talasa struje, koje imaju razlicitu vremensku sekvenciju od 120 stepeni sa razlikom u vremenu pojavljivanja jedna iza druge. To je bila njegova revolucionarna ideja sa kojom je pronasao naizmenicnu struju. Ti talasi koje je on crtao cine osnovu motora po kome gazi a taj motor je osnova svih motora I generatora do danasnjeg dana.
Ako hodate oko spomenika primecuje se Teslina izreka napisana na motoru koja glasi: “Mogucnost volje I sopstvene kontrole izgleda mi vazna ……..dok na kraju zelja I realnost postanu jednake. Tako je bilo do sada I u tome lezi tajna moga uspeha. Moji snovi su jednaki sa realnoscu”.
Tesla 1915
Takodje ako pazljivo posmatrate spomenik Vi cete naci dva novcica na njemu. Jedan novcic pozadi njega je Srpski novcic iz 1879 koji podseca na njegovo poreklo I na vreme kada je on pronasao prvi indukcioni motor. A drugi novcic lezi ispred njega a to je Kanadski novcic koji predstavlja godinu kada je Tesla projektovao prvu elektricnu centralu na Niagari. On hoda od staroga do novoga sveta I stvara u tom procesu. Druga sledeca legenda koju ja smatram vrlo znacajnom kada sam izucavao Teslin zivot je njegova ljubav prema golubovima. Jedna golubica je bila njegova omiljena. Izgleda da je bila jaka veza izmedju njih. Kada je Tesla menjao stanove u Hotelu New Yorker I Waldorf Astorija golubovi su ga uvek pratili. Ja sam ugradio tu golubicu na spomeniku zato sto verujem da bi to Tesla zelio da ja uradim. Ja necu da kazem gde je ta golubica na spomeniku I ostavljam to Vama da je pronadjete.
Na kraju bih zeleo da kazem da je ovo bila velika cast za mene da napravim spomenik tako briljantnom coveku I na tako vaznom mestu kao sto su Vodopadi Niagare. Ja se zahvaljujem Srpskoj Pravoslavnoj Crkvi “Sveti Djorjde” na Niagari I Komisiji za Parkove na Niagari koji su omogucili da se ovo delo ostvari. Kada sam poceo da radim na spomeniku ja nisam imao predstavu sto Tesla znaci za toliko mnogo ljudi I da su njegova ostvarenja za civilizaciju tako zaboravljena. Ja se nadam da sam u neku ruku doprineo da se ta istorijska nepravda ispravi I da sam ostvario nesto vredno za tako velikog coveka. Ja zelim da cujem vase komentare koje mozete poslati na moju E-mail adresu leslie_drysdale@hotmail.com
S postovanjem,
Les Drysdale, vajar
Above: Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) at the age of 38.
Above: Niagara Falls. Goat Island is located between the two waterfalls (American and Canadian). Tesla's other Monument (above) is located on Goat Island, this monument was the gift of Yugoslavia to the United States, 1976. The monument on Goat Island was the work of famous Croatian sculptor Krsinic.
A gracious moment in the park of Budapest, 1882
Tesla's idea of rotating magnetic field came to him instantly while he was reciting stances from the German poet Goethe's Faust in Budapest Park in 1882 in a gracious moment of excitement. Tesla drew a picture of the rotating magnetic field in the ground of the park and showed it to his friend. Tesla was trying to solve the puzzle of Rotating Magnetic Field and eliminate the commentators' in Gram's electric machines for many years. Suddenly the solution for Rotating Magnetic Field came to him this very moment.
In this painting of 1829-31, Goethe is shown dictating to his secretary the second part of the Faust. The small and simply furnished study room, which he called 'humble quarters', suited his inner creative life. By the time of this portrait Goethe was already a world figure, a man of unique character and abilities who had a widespread influence on his own times.
Rotating Magnetic Field is a principle discovery in physics and Tesla adapted his concept of Rotating Magnetic Field to produce polyphase alternating current (AC) electricity, which is lighting the globe today.
Above: Nikola Tesla's patent for the alternating current motor.
