The closing of museums during the pandemic put me in a state of art withdrawal. In search of a fix, I traveled to various locations in the Greater Boston area looking for publicly-accessible art. College campuses are great place to find art, so one day in June 2020 I visited the Boston University in Boston, MA to see what art I could find without having to go inside. I found quite a bit of art, most of which I was able to identify either through plaques or an online search. There is some excellent information this BU-sponsored website. There are a couple of sculptures I couldn’t identify, which are shown at the end of the post – if you have any information about them, please share in the comments!
Edward Monti – Japanese Lantern (late 1970s)
Edward Monti – Untitled (late 1970s)
I have no information about this sculpture. If you have any information about the artist, date or title, please let me know in the comments.
Pandemic Art Adventures: Brandeis University
The closing of museums during the pandemic put me in a state of art withdrawal. In search of a fix, I traveled to various locations in the Greater Boston area looking for publicly-accessible art. College campuses are great place to find art, so one day in June I visited the Brandeis University in Waltham, MA to see what art I could find without having to go inside. I found quite a bit of art, most of which I was able to identify either through plaques or an online search. Brandeis has an excellent website with additional information here. There were a few sculptures I couldn’t identify, which are shown at the end of the post – if you have any information about them, please share in the comments!
Robert Berks (1922-2011) – Louis Dembitz Brandeis (1956).
Peter Grippe (1912-2002) – The Three Freedoms (1963)
The statute of Job (1967) by Nathan Rapaport (1911-1987) is part of a larger Holocaust Memorial outside the Jewish Chapel at Brandeis.
Maurice B. Hexter (1891-1990) – Non-Objective (1970).
Jacques Lipchitz (1891-1973) – Pegasus (Birth of the Muses) (1972)
Ernest Trova (1927-2009) – Tree (1982)
Lila Katzen (1925-1998) – The Wand of Inquiry (1983). The mockingbird is not part of the sculpture, but it insisted on remaining for the duration of my visit.
Penelope Jencks (1936- ) – Student and Knowledge (1986)
David Bakalar (1924- ) – Duality (1990)
Rita Blitt (1931- ) – Inspiration (1993)
David Aronson (1923-2015) – Ruach Yisrael (The Spirit of Israel) (1997)
Brandeis Peace Monument (2002). I have been unable to locate the identity of the artist(s) who created this work. If you have any information, please let me know.
A Golem for Brandeis University (2014) was created by Brandeis student and artist Paul Belenkey (Class of 2014).
Chris Burden (1946-2015) – Light of Reason (2014). These photographs were taken during the day; for the full effect, the work should be seen at night when the lamps are lit.
Muslim at Prayer (?). I have been unable to locate any information about this statue, which is located in a small wooded glade near the university chapels. At first I thought it was someone asleep or collapsed (after too much studying?), but I have been told it may represent a praying Muslim figure (perhaps intended to draw attention to the lack of a Muslim chapel?).
Armillary Sphere with Zodiac Signs. I have been unable to find out any information about this artwork. If you know anything about it, please let me know in the comments.
This abstract sculpture adorns the exterior wall of the Gryzmish building. I have been unable to find out any information about it. If you have any knowledge of the sculptor, date, etc., please contact me or leave a comment. Thanks.
POSTSCRIPT: Outside the sculpture studio, I found a number of student works in various states of completion, waiting for the students to return after the untimely interruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pandemic Art Adventures: MIT
The closing of museums during the pandemic put me in a state of art withdrawal. In search of a fix, I traveled to various locations in the Greater Boston area looking for publicly-accessible art. College campuses are great place to find art, so one day in June I visited the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA to see what art I could find without having to go inside. I found quite a bit of art, which I was able to identify either through plaques or an online search. MIT has an excellent website with additional information here.
Although Eero Saarinen’s 1956 MIT Chapel is a work of architecture, it’s compact size and modernist belltower make it feel like a sculpture, so I am including it here. Other interesting works of architecture on campus are Baker House (1948), one of only two permanent structures in the US designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (see below),
and of course, the whimsical Stata Center (2004), by Frank Gehry.
Alexander Calder’s La Grande Voile (The Big Sail) (1965), made of painted steel, is located in McDermott Court.
Transparent Horizon (1975) by Louise Nevelson is made from Cor-Ten steel painted black and is located in front of the Landau building.
Gary Wiley’s Invaders, completed in 1981 and installed in 1982, consists of three different butterfly figures and is made of wrought iron, soft steel, mirrored and colored Plexiglas, marbles, and paint. The sculpture is intended to be mobile and is moved to different locations on campus from time to time. I saw it at the alumni pool building.
Mark di Suvero’s Aesop’s Fables, II (2005) is made of steel painted red and is located on the northeast sector lawn.
Alchemist (2010), by Jaume Plensa, is made of stainless steel painted white and is located on the lawn of the Stratton Student Center.
