Trovascope and the Falling Man

Ernest Trova, a self-taught artist who lived his entire life in the vicinity of St. Louis, is best known for his iconic “Falling Man” figure, who is a symbol for a person’s evolution through lived experiences. Ernest Trova: Selections from the F.M. Manscapes Portfolio is currently on view in the Van Winkle Law Firm Gallery, wherein vibrant colors, geometric patterns, and repetitive forms merge to communicate a sense of movement and environment as the prints detail the Falling Man’s layered journey. Trova rendered the Falling Man through printmaking, painting, and sculpture in an aesthetic that straddled Pop art and Minimalism. Regardless of medium, the generic figure stands for what Trova saw as a human’s imperfect nature paired with being “the center of all things.”

One unusual iteration of the Falling Man comes in the form of a kaleidoscope. Take a moment to peek inside a “Trovascope” through the video created by Julia Quigley, spring 2020 digital storytelling intern, and follow the Falling Man as he collapses, plunges, and tumbles through layers of space and his own form.

~ Contributed by Assistant Curator Hilary Schroeder