Public Art on the Tufts University Medford Campus
In May of 2012 the Tufts University Art Gallery launched a pilot for
an outdoor public art program. The gallery hopes to continue this
series with many more modern and contemporary sculptures to be
installed in highly trafficked locations on the Medford campus.
Sponsored by the Tufts University Art Gallery, generous donations
from individual donors and installation support from Tufts
University facilities.
Current Public Art Installations
Artist Raul Gonzalez posing with
Merrily... |
Merrily... (2012)
Acrylic paint, color pencil, on plywood, 4 x 20 feet
Artist: Raul Gonzalez III (American, born 1976)
On loan from the artist
Sponsored by the Tufts University Art Gallery @ The Aidekman Arts Center
Painter Raul Gonzalez III devises satirical, engaging narrative tableaux that
blend comic-book characters of his own invention with imagery derived from early
20th century Mexican popular and graphic arts.
In this five-panel painting titled Merrily..., commissioned for this site,
Gonzalez sets his child-like protagonists, or "UFOs," adrift on a stylized
Rio Grande River (reminiscent of Japanese ukiyo-e prints), lead by a
calavera (a skeletal spirit)—wearing
a coyote mask. The Chicano artist, who grew up along the Texas-Mexico border,
asks us to think about whether border crossing does in fact lead to a better life,
where "life is but a dream."
A native of El Paso, Texas, Gonzalez has lived in the Boston area since 2001.
He is the recipient of the prestigious Artadia Award for emerging artists
and a Massachusetts Cultural Council Award in Drawing.
To hear the artist speak about his work, dial 1-617-449-7520, then press 203.
Artist Leslie Fry posing with Colossal
AcornHead. |
Colossal AcornHead (2012)
Bronze, edition 1/5, 30 x 60 x 30 inches.
Artist: Leslie Fry (American, born 1954)
Installation: May 2012 - Present
Location: Raised tree-bed downhill from Tisch Library
On loan from the artist
Sculptor and public artist Leslie Fry's work fuses natural
and human
forms into magical mutations such as Colossal AcornHead, a
"colossal" bronze nut — embellished with facial features inspired
by ancient Assyrian, Thracian, and Archaic Greek art and other
details from Medieval architecture, foliage, and fruits — that
appears to have serendipitously fallen from the tree overhead.
Fry divides her time between studios in Vermont and Florida. She
received a B.A. from the University of Vermont, an M.F.A. from the
Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College, and
attended the Central School of Art and Design in London.
To hear the artist speak about her work, dial 1-617-449-7520, then
press 202.
Read "Acorn Man" >
published in TuftsNow on May 14
Read "Carving out a Career: Leslie Fry's art connects nature,
humanity, fantasy, and architecture" >
Vermont Magazine, May/June 2012
Listen to our guided tour stops here:
STOP 202:
Leslie Fry's Colossal AcornHead,
Emily Monty, MA2013, Art History, Tufts
STOP 203:
Raul Gonzalez's Merrily..., Raul Gonzalez
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