The Fountain of Time

From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville:

Public art can enhance our lives -- and our cities. That's certainly the case in Chicago. 

I had some time while in Chicago a couple of weeks ago for the Greenbuild Conference to visit with my daughter. One thing we did was to go to Washington Park not far from the University of Chicago campus to see Fountain of Time, a magnificent sculptural work completed by Lorado Taft in 1922.

Made of reinforced concrete, Fountain of Time had deteriorated over time. But the city recently completed a major restoration of the sculpture.

It's a dramatic and moving work -- based on poet Henry Austin Dobson's line: "Time goes, you say? Ah no, Alas, time stays, we go."

Lorado Taft studied at the University of Illinois, and then at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. While best known for his book, The History of American Sculpture, Taft also sculpted a number of large-scale pieces.

[The photo of Taft on the right, from the University of Illinois web site, was taken in 1929.]

His last major design was the Pioneers and Patriots sculptural groups for the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, dedicated in 1932. Taft died four years later.

Note: public art, besides bringing us pleasure, knowledge, and emotional connections, can also bring other benefits. Take a look, for example, at the Project for Public Spaces' web page: How Art Economically Benefits Cities.