Three bronze sculptures added to 'Garden of Great Ideas' collection

by Skip Anderson

Three bronze sculptures were unveiled last week, joining four others as part of "The Garden of Great Ideas" collection at Vanderbilt, sponsored by the New York-based Newington-Cropsey Foundation.

Photos by Phonethip M. Liu

Michael Locascio unveils his "Shadow and Substance," one of three sculptures installed last week as part of "The Garden of Great Ideas," sponsored by the Newington-Cropsey Foundation.

"The Garden of Great Ideas" includes outdoor art on permanent display at Vanderbilt and other campuses. The sculptures at Vanderbilt are a gift to the University by the NCF.

The lengthy process leading to the creation of each sculpture in the Vanderbilt collection was overseen by Greg Wyatt, director of the Academy of Art at the NCF and sculptor-in-residence at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City. Each student worked within themes of broad impact chosen from a list compiled from works of recognized scholars, created proposals and worked with Vanderbilt faculty, staff and students, who critiqued the models. The artists were involved in selecting the sites for their artwork.

"This is an important and exciting moment in the artistic history of our campus," said Michael J. Schoenfeld, vice chancellor for media relations, who presided over the three unveilings.

Because of heavy rain, remarks from each artist were given in the Hill Center after the unveiling of each piece.

"Ascension" by Kasra Paydavousi, 32, was installed in the courtyard at the top of the exterior stairs near the Stevenson Center Science Library. Paydavousi explained that his sculpture relates to divine power and human self-awareness.

Left: "Con-volution," by Jeremy Bond, is based on the double-helix form of DNA.
It signifies genetic continuity.

Right: Kasra Paydavousi's "Ascension"
explores religious power and human self-awareness.
It is one of three sculptures unveiled last week as part of "The Garden of Great Ideas."

"My sculpture is basically a dome, which is symbolic of religious institutions," he said, explaining that the piece was designed to be viewed from three perspectives: above, beneath and eye-level. The piece features a nude male figure named "Penitence" kneeling under the dome and another named "Ecstasy," who is on his knees atop the dome with his torso arched upwards and his head thrown back.

"Penitence" represents persons who are either "safe within the womb of religion," or "trapped," he said to those in attendance. "'Ecstasy' has achieved salvation" either through the support of religion, or perhaps "despite religion."

Paydavousi, who lived in Iran until he was 15, stated that the two male figures represent mankind, not the male sex, and the dome is the "house of many religions." He will earn his M.F.A. in sculpture from the New York Academy of Art in May.

The second sculpture unveiled was "Con-volution," by Connecticut native Jeremy Bond, 24, who will earn a degree in illustration from the Savannah College of Art and Design this month. The sculpture, an abstraction based upon the double-helix form of DNA, is located in the north end of the courtyard east of Light Hall. Bond said the piece represents genetic continuity.

"The passing on of characteristics from parents to offspring is one of the great themes of life," he said in his artist's statement. "Over hundreds of years ... a gold ring remains a gold ring. In a hundred years, an acorn can become a huge oak tree. ... That is the power of DNA."

Following the unveiling, Bond said it was his intent "to express energy in the double-helix form," stating that the surface of the sculpture, which grows from rough to smooth from bottom to top, represents evolution.

"I didn't close off the top of the form to convey the ongoing evolution," he said.

The third unveiling took place on the Peabody campus on the lawn west of the Hill Student Center. Michael Locascio, a 25-year-old graduate from New York University with a degree in literature, cited Plato's Republic as his inspiration for "Shadow and Substance." The piece is of a nude male form kneeling upon his distorted, three-dimensional reflection.

"The [reflection] is rippled to give the sense he is in water, and to convey that during self-analysis you are limited by the human brain regarding what you can see of yourself," said Locascio. The theme he worked from was personal identity.

The unveilings were preceded by the opening of a related exhibit of sketches by the artists of model studies at Sarratt Student Center. The exhibit is scheduled to run through May 19.

The "Tree of Learning," a 25-foot-tall monument sculpted by Wyatt, is scheduled to be unveiled May 27 near the campus entrance to the Central Library at 1:30 p.m. during Reunion Weekend. Also a gift from the Newington-Cropsey Foundation, it will be the eighth piece of "The Garden of Great Ideas" exhibit at Vanderbilt. Wyatt also sculpted "Bill of Rights Eagle," which was donated to the University and dedicated by the NCF in 1997. It is on display at the entrance to Old Central.

The dedication of three more bronze sculptures by young artists is scheduled for spring 2001, with themes in their works ranging from cartography and land use, individual rights versus cultural rights, and the concept of self.

The Newington-Cropsey Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., and is dedicated to studying, conserving and exhibiting the works of Hudson River School artist Jasper Francis Cropsey. Vanderbilt first learned of "The Garden of Great Ideas" from U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, who saw a Newington-Cropsey presentation in Washington, D.C. Thompson graduated from the Law School in 1967.