Why
Sculpture, without platform: 99 x 42 x 32 in. (251.5 x 106.7 x 81.3 cm)
Platform: 37 x 36 x 36 in. (94 x 91.4 x 91.4 cm)
Born on the South Side of Chicago, Richard Howard Hunt is celebrated for his abstract sculpture, often created for public sites. In 1957, Hunt received a Bachelor’s of Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and he has created over 125 public sculptures in the United States over the past six decades. He won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center in 2009.
Why was erected in honor of Samuel H. Nerlove (1901-1972), a University of Chicago professor of Economics who was known for his questioning nature. It is one of a series of works that Hunt describes as “hybrids,” because it combines abstract biomorphic forms with a hard-edged geometric base. Of his work, he explains,
“In some works it is my intention to develop the kind of forms Nature might create if only heat and steel were available to her.”
