September
26, 2003
Abbey
Chapel to Host "Heavy-Metal Rococo"
Jensen Sculpture
PULPIT, a 25-foot-high
structure designed and built by architect Karl Jensen, will be
installed in Abbey Chapel October 3. The installation, part of
a public sculpture series coordinated by the art department and
the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, will run through November
18.
This major work continues
Jensen's exploration of expanded applications of common construction
techniques, such as interlocking, stacking, and folding. These
familiar techniques become unorthodox when applied to large-scale
construction made with conventional materials. In PULPIT, aluminum,
steel, plastic, and concrete form the piece. The installation
provides a unique opportunity to view this elaborate contemporary
piece in architectural context. The sculpture will be sited on
the south side of the nave, positioned as a side oratory pulpit.
The body of PULPIT is
composed of six interlocking steel plates, an intricate steel
staircase, and a crowning canopy. The sculpture itself is generated
from a flat, geometric pattern that, when pulled apart and folded
upon itself, creates a floriated Gothic staircase. Designed to
evoke a ball of fire, the canopy is suspended from a chain of
three interlocking monkeys. The entire pulpit is borne on the
back of six two-headed ceramic turtles.
In an exhibition
review last fall, the New York Times wrote of PULPIT, "If the
Hell's Angels had a church, their pulpit might look something
like Jensen's spin on ecclesiastical design, which you might call
heavy-metal Rococo." Art in America called PULPIT "irreverent
and irresistible . . . a tour de force of aluminum, steel, plastic,
and concrete, its sides marked with flat geometric pattern as
if they were components of the ultimate erector set."
An artist's lecture
and opening reception will be held on Wednesday, October 8, at
7 pm in Abbey Chapel. For further information, please call the
Mount Holyoke College Art Museum at x2245.
The
counter is
1,839
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