January 1998
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Campus Greets Huru, & Vice Versa Wave hello to Huru, and he just might wave hello back. By now, almost everyone on campus has made a passing acquaintance with Huru, the gigantic, 55-foot wind sculpture which is ensconced at the corner of the soccer field, just as you enter the campus.
Huru, the creation of sculptor Mark di Suvero, is one of a series of public art-sized sculptures by world-class artists that will eventually make the UMass Boston campus their home through "Arts on the Point," a public sculpture park which began to take shape this winter. The mastermind behind the Arts on the Point project is Art Professor Paul Tucker, who hopes that everyone will benefit from the presence of these works on campus, whether they like an individual piece or not.
Huru and twelve "fantastic afterlife vehicles" created by four artists from Ghana, West Africa, are the first works to be installed on campus. The vehicles, which are located throughout campus buildings, are part of a tradition begun by the late Ghanian artist Kane Kwei during the 1960s. The meaning of each vehicle may not be readily apparent, as in the case of one resembling a marlboro cigarette box. "Marlboros are highly prized in Ghana, even a status symbol," says Tucker, explaining its significance. An article in the August 1994 issue of National Geographic Magazine is dedicated to this art form.
When complete, Arts on the Point will provide a unique opportunity to view sculptures that might otherwise be stored away out of the public view for years. Works by Sol LeWitt, Luis Jimenez, Ursula von Rydingsvard, and Dennis Oppenheim have already been committed to the park. All of the works are either donated or on long-term loan.
The next work to be installed will be Luis Jimenez's "Steelworker" which Tucker says is tentatively scheduled to be erected on the plaza between the Science Building, and Wheatley and McCormack Halls, during the first week of January.