Tag: central campus

Art Biz with Liz: The Cube

Elizabeth S Leave a comment

This past week, I finally spun the “Cube,” a sculpture iconic to the University of Michigan. The Cube, I’ve recently learned, is officially titled “Endover.” It was a gift from UM’s class of 1965 and was installed on Regents’ Plaza in 1968. Throughout most of my first two years of university, cube-spinning was non-existent due to the 20-month renovation of the Michigan Union. During this time, Regents’ Plaza was closed for construction, which also included enclosing the Cube for protection. The reopening of the Michigan Union last January meant the return of the famous sculpture.

The Cube’s creator, Bernard (Tony) Rosenthal, was a University of Michigan Alumnus. After taking sculpture classes at the Art Institute of Chicago, Rosenthal attended UM and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1936. He was known for his public art sculptures, of which can be found in many of the United States’ largest cities.

Ann Arbor’s Cube is among Rosenthal’s numerous outdoor sculptures. The massive cube sculpture spins on its axis if nudged, contrasting its initial motionless appearance. It has clean corners and a geometrical aesthetic, but its faces aren’t entirely flat, as they are full of various shapes, planes, and indentations. The Cube, or Endover, is considered a version of the Alamo, a nearly identical sculpture located on Astor Place in New York City’s Manhattan. Both cubes are made of Corten steel and measure at 15 feet wide by 15 feet tall. There is a difference, however; while the Alamo rotates like Endover, its pivot is on a separate platform, whereas the Endover’s pivot is lowered into the ground.

I’m looking forward to stopping by the Cube whenever I visit the Michigan Union, though students aren’t the only ones who enjoy spinning the Cube. According to UM legend, the president is tasked with spinning the cube each morning on their way to the Fleming Building. While this might not be happening with COVID-19, current UM president Mark Schlissel was noted to give the Cube a push following his approval as U-M’s 14th president. His predecessor, Mary Sue Coleman, was even featured in a Youtube video enacting the UM tradition.

For more information:

https://arts.umich.edu/museums-cultural-attractions/the-cube-endover/

http://www.tonyrosenthal.com/

https://record.umich.edu/articles/cube-access-be-closed-during-michigan-union-renovation/

 

Have You Seen This New Sculpture?

themichiganarchitect 2 Comments

 

Has anyone seen this beautiful stain-glassed sculpture that was just recently put up by the Central Campus Transit Center??
As an architect, I am very intrigued by this structure. I have so many questions to ask about it!! But I guess that is the fun in creating and experiencing art in general… I’ll write my questions and attempt to give my own answer, so feel free to comment your thoughts, and ask more questions if you have any!! Also, give my instagram (@connecticuto8) a follow if you want to see more interesting views of our Michigan Campus!

Question #1: What’s with the shape?
Answer: Perhaps providing an interesting framed circular view (as depicted on the right), but not wanting to just use a basic circular frame for that view.

Question #2: Why all the colors?
Answer: Maybe a fun sort of way to symbolize the beauty of the ethnic diversity (like the diverse choice in colors in this sculpture) on our campus? And maybe experiment with lighting, in terms of how the different colored glass interacts with the sunlight to affect our perception of the framed view (shown on the right).

Question #3: Why glass, instead of other building materials?
Answer: If this project’s mission was to experiment with lighting, then this glassy material would definitely allow for that sort of interaction, since there would be light reflecting off of the metal framework of the sculpture, and glass would allow for the sunlight being absorbed by the glass to be refracted, thereby affecting the change in tints of the colors we perceive on the glass.

Question #4: Why this specific location?
Answer: Maybe administration finally found that grassy island across from the chemistry building as boring, so they decided to install this piecework there to add more character to central campus, after all, central campus is like the livelihood of Michigan’s campus, and it is in an almost introductory location (for anyone who just got off the bus from North Campus and was just now seeing Central Campus for the first time), so it would put a pleasant view to facilitate pleasant experiences on our campus.