Public Art Highlights:
2005-06
Through a groundbreaking partnership between the Office for the Arts and Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Brian Knep was an artist in residence—the first for the Medical School. Knep, who creates computer-generated interactive artworks, often programs his projected images with the help of algorithms that describe biological models. His residency featured a range of educational activities, including roundtable discussions hosted by the Harvard Graduate School of Design and Department of Systems Biology that explored the intersections of art and science.
2004
Sponsored by the OFA’s Public Art and Learning from Performers programs in collaboration with Cambridge Arts Council, artist Jody Pinto conducted a site visit and presented a slide lecture at Harvard. Pinto was engaged by the City of Cambridge to work on the Harvard Square Design Project—a modification of the Square's pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular traffic patterns. She identified Palmer Street as a focal point for her contribution to the Square's redesign. (Photo by Stephanie Mitchell)
2003
Commissioned by the OFA, the Harvard Seers Project was a temporary interactive artwork by Lee Mingwei, in collaboration with members of the Harvard community. Within a simple, elegant enclosure created by Lee and installed in Memorial Hall, seers from the Harvard community received individuals seeking guidance. Through this setting and interaction, the artist explored issues of intimacy, trust, and self-awareness. Lee recreated the Seers Project, including the pavilion constructed at Harvard, for presentation in the 2004 Whitney Biennial in New York. (Photo by Stephanie Mitchell)
1997-98
A permanent artwork by Richard Fleischner distinguishes the façade of the OFA's headquarters in Harvard Square. This project represented a first collaboration between the OFA, the artist, and Harvard University Physical Resources to integrate public art and the implementation of necessary repairs at a Harvard-owned building. Completed in 1998, Fleischner’s sculptural arc of copper plate and leaf bursts boldly from the brick façade of the Warren and Wetmore-designed building, highlighting the interplay of nearby architectural and ornamental elements.
Public Art Program projects by Harvard students for ARTS FIRST, the university’s arts annual festival
2006
Students designed and created "No Preservatives," which was installed on a fence edging Harvard Yard. Ziplock bags, containing the mundane litter of our consumer society, made a grid pattern. Artist Gary Duehr (website) guided students in the development and installation of the project.
2005
Guided by Gary Duehr, students worked together to create “Fragments,” a temporary installation of broken mirrors and strips of text from Pablo Neruda’s Book of Questions, which were installed on trees in Harvard Yard. Passersby were encouraged to pause, ponder, and literally “reflect”.
2003
A temporary sculpture of muslin was created and installed by undergraduates under the guidance of Nancy Selvage, artist and Director of Harvard’s Ceramics Program. The interaction between the trees and fabric created an improvisational personal space as an alternative to the traditional spaces of Harvard Yard.
