Art on Campus

When a visitor arrives at the Welcome Center on campus, they are greeted by a monumental installation by the late Hassan Sharif (UAE, 1951-2016), entitled Copper (2015). Then, they will encounter other artworks, all part of a growing “art path” through campus, from a white spiral twisting up from the West Plaza (Whirlabout (Dynamo) by the New York artist Alice Aycock) to the clouds of threaded reflective forms extending across the ceiling of the library (On Cosmic Clouds, by Argentinian artist Tomas Saraceno). These exist due to the vision of an art committee, formed in 2012 to activate a creative dialogue with the campus architecture and audiences.

The campus art committee identified “inquiry” as a conceptual anchor for this art path, writing that “Inquiry speaks to the learning, discovery, and research of the university.” The committee also considered the future of the campus art collection with a keen awareness that, as the urban fabric around the campus grows, each of its plazas will be “a key connection point with the city.” (All quotes from an e-mail by Hilary Ballon to the campus art committee, dated April 26, 2013).