~The Beauty of Simplicity~

              Walking on campus near Morrill Hall I came across a very unique sculpture. When I took a closer look it had two labels. One engraved in it said “Commissioned by the state of Connecticut for Southern Connecticut State University through the Department of Administrative services and the Connecticut commission on the arts.” The second engraved scripture said “Serie Metasfiscioa xvIII Herk Van Tongeren 1988.” After googling this person’s name I found that this sculpture on campus was in fact done by a girl named Valerie Salamander from a photograph of the sculpture “Serie Metafisica XVIII,” by Herk Van Tongeren. A little background history on Tongeren is that he was especially known for his finely crafted bronze sculptures which were said to grow from paintings by Giorgio de Chirico and sculptures by Alberto Giacometti. As seen in the picture I took above, there are four pillars with roman columns designs. These pillars stand on one level while the next level slants towards the ground and has one ball at the top and one ball at the bottom.

                In my opinion I think that this sculpture really is something amazing. I never realized it before but after taking a closer look I now can see it has meaning behind it. To me the pillars stand as a symbol of maturity. They stand the tallest and are the most dominant structure on the sculpture. The slanted level represents the pathway one must take to reach their final maturity in life. The ball starting at the beginning represents someone just starting off in life. They travel up the ramp and that’s where the second ball comes in. It represents the point in life where you are ready to take life in your own hands. From there come the pillars. In a way they stand as if they are never ending. The reason for that is because in life you never reach your final maturity, you continue to grow. You are always learning from your mistakes and you continue to grow from them. In a way the pillars can extend forever. We continue to grow forever and even when we pass our life contributed to others and helped them and continues to help them as they grow forever; which is why there are specifically four pillars. Overall to me this sculpture is captivating the human life in one image. By captivating the human life in the details within the sculpture give it the emotional depth which then show the deeper meaning of how one grows throughout life and after life.