• The Sculpture in the Garden

    Tweet 2012 Jul 9 4 Comments

    Construction of the Children’s Hospital at Penn State Hershey is well underway. Completion is scheduled for December 2012. Along with the Hershey Cancer Institute and the Main Hospital Lobby, the building is sited along the Arc, the roadway and pedestrian spine that organizes the new front door of the medical center. Defined by this curved spine is the Front Garden, a large landscaped area that includes the short-term parking lots, and acts as the hospital forecourt.

    Sited within the Front Garden will be a monumental sculpture, funded by generous donations. The sculpture will be thematically related to the Children’s Hospital and is intended as a new landmark at the front of the medical center. A selection committee was assembled with members representing Penn State University, Hershey Medical Center and Payette.  After a brief design competition, the committee selected a piece by Albert Paley, an artist based in Rochester, NY. The monumental sculpture proposed by Paley will be made out of painted and Corten steel, and will be 40 feet high.

    I visited the studios of Albert Paley last week along with lighting designers from Available Light. The purpose of the trip was to check on the progress of the assembly, coordinate installation and foundation details, and to explore lighting schemes for the sculpture.



    Several lighting approaches were tested on the sculpture’s steel maquette, built at about 1/6th scale.



    Paley’s studio is a fascinating space for creating art. A large industrial space located on the outskirts of Rochester, it is manned by 8 artists and technicians. The space is filled with tool racks, equipment, samples, and mockups, as well as sculptures in different stages of assembly. The pieces range in size from a few inches to dozens of feet. Upstairs, the studio’s offices house a great collection of maquettes and beautiful drawings of the artist’s work.



    The piece will be shipped to the site in the fall, and its unveiling will coincide with the opening of Children’s Hospital project. Stay tuned for a great Sculpture in the Garden!

    from → Projects
4 Comments
  • Thank you for the name of the sculpture by Albert Paley. As the campus shuttle riders watched the sculpture being revealed, it invoked a different response from each person. The Promise is an extraordinary masterpiece.
    November 29, 2012 Mardi Sawyer
  • I've found art is often meant to be abstract, strange and somewhat startling. It's rather exciting to discover what different interpretations and experiences we each bring to a piece of art.
    November 29, 2012 Karen, Graphic Designer
  • Shawn,

    The sculpture has been named “The Promise” after a poem Albert Paley wrote about his sculpture. The sculpture serves as an archway to the entrance to the Children’s Hospital. I can’t speak for Mr. Paley, but from what I understand/see, it is an abstract form with free flowing shapes symbolizing hope and change. There are subtle hints of water, fish, the sun, clouds, birds, and even the profile of children’s faces at one of the “legs” of the sculpture. Color was added to make aspects of the sculpture more literal, given that the site is a children’s hospital. Up lights around each of the “legs” and perimeter spot lights were incorporated in the sculpture plaza design to enhance the effect of the sculpture at night.

    The scale / height of the sculpture helps to connect the landscape to the building. Children will be able to experience the sculpture throughout the building. For example, when a child is in a patient room, s/he can look out of the window and see the sculpture from a different vantage point and see elements not obvious from the entryway.

    During the Dedication on 11/13, Mr. Paley told the crowd that the sculpture is whatever the viewer makes of it, whatever moves the individual and encouraged everyone to respond differently.

    For more information regarding Albert Paley’s work, visit his studio website:
    http://www.albertpaley.com/default.asp
    November 29, 2012 Nicole, Designer
  • Does the sculpture sybolise anything? From the pictures, i really cant tell what they are trying to make here. Are they going for a more abstract sculpture? I would think that because the sculpture is so close to a hospital, it mught be in a shape of a skeleton or something. It kind of looks like a horse right now.
    November 28, 2012 Shawn
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