Emory boasts rare literary collections, precious Greek and Egyptian artifacts, and a wealth of fine architecture, but no major piece of sculpture–until now.

An anonymous donor has enabled Emory to buy a sculpture by renowned minimalist artist Sol LeWitt, the first such significant contemporary sculpture in the University’s holdings and only the third LeWitt on view in Atlanta. The piece, recently installed between White Hall and the Administration building, is a simple tower of white concrete titled Tower With Vertical Blocks 1.

Associate Professor of Art History James Meyer says the purchase was some three years in the making, dating back to the removal of the Anthony Caro sculpture that had been loaned to Emory during the Olympics. When the Caro loan expired, the only notable contemporary sculpture on campus was George Trakas’ Source Route, a piece of land art in the ravine below the museum.

“Fine campuses and fine universities usually have examples of public sculpture, which are very significant for the education of undergraduates and the university community in the appreciation of art,” Meyer says. “Atlanta has very few works of public sculpture. If you are trying to teach art history, you need art to show students. We basically teach from slides.”

When an anonymous donor expressed interest in funding a public sculpture for the University, Meyer, along with art history professor Clark Poling and Catherine Howett Smith, associate director of the Carlos Museum, considered several possible contemporary sculptors, ultimately selecting LeWitt. They explored four works in his 2002 series Concrete Blocks, settling on Tower 1 because its size and shape were appropriate for the Emory campus.

Another, much larger LeWitt piece from the same series is located near Atlanta’s Freedom Parkway, just a few miles from Emory.

“Now our students can write papers comparing these two works by the same artist,” Meyer says. “They’re very different. Ours is very elegant, while the other is rougher, not as refined.”

Meyer, the the author of two books on minimalist art, spearheaded the LeWitt project and walked the Emory campus personally with the artist to help choose the site for the sculpture. It was erected in the place formerly occupied by The Wave, a metal sculpture by artist Jim Clover, which has been relocated to a spot between White Hall and the Atwood Chemistry Building.

LeWitt’s early conceptual work of the 1960s, he says, was part of a movement that attempted to transcend reference to the real world; but his later work, including the Concrete Blocks series, does take on attributes of actual structures such as the ziggurats and pyramids of Egypt and the ancient Americas. “In this way the work has a kind of architectural and historical memory, even though it’s purely abstract at the same time,” Meyer says.

Meyer hopes the LeWitt sculpture serves as the foundation for other significant artworks on campus.

“Emory deserves this,” he says. “We should have important art in this place. With the coming of the Schwartz Center, there has been a drive to bring the arts to a higher level at Emory, and our understanding will be greater the more resources we have.

“One of my students was so excited when the LeWitt was being built that she went and signed up for the art history major that day.”–P.P.P.