Adam Smith's Spinning Top

An imposing bronze top spirals through the courtyard in front of the CSU Administration Building. The trail blazed by the top is marked by a 3 foot tall bronze sheet, adorned with text from Adam Smith’s 1776 manifesto “The Wealth of Nations.” Sanborn believes that his work represents Smith’s theory that a healthy economy is like a top, in that it always balances itself despite the frantic pace.

In a distinctly Sanborn style, the piece invites viewers to walk within the wrapping twists of the bronze. Once within the sculpture, the viewer must spin like the top that looms above them in order to fully take in the work.