UMass Dartmouth Fine Arts Professor Eric Lintala installs "Tower Spirits" sculpture
UMass Dartmouth College of Visual & Performing Arts Professor Eric Lintala has installed a new sculpture located in the University's Claire T. Carney Library Living Room. "Tower Spirits" is the latest addition to the Living Gallery Project at UMass Dartmouth. The Living Gallery is an initiative begun by UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman to bring together university, local, and regional cultural and artistic leaders to reimagine the UMass Dartmouth campus as an artistic and architectural destination.
Professor Lintala's 10-foot-tall, five legged sculpture made of fiberglass and wood, is located in the very popular Living Room, which, like many spaces within the University's library, serves as an academic and social gathering place.
Professor Lintala received his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees in Sculpture from Kent State University. He is a Professor in the Fine Arts Department, in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
In April of this year the Living Gallery took its initial step with the installation of "Gerry's Window" by sculptor, landscape artist and CVPA Alumnus Ron Rudnicki. "Gerry's Window" is a stone and steel work, located in the center of the nautilus bench adjacent to the CVPA Building on the university's main campus.
The goal of the Living Gallery is to reimagine and fulfill the vision of Paul Rudolph's design through strategic new landscaping, sculptures, and murals. Paul Rudolph, the original architect of the campus, was one of the leading architects in America in the 1950s and 60s. He designed UMass Dartmouth with an overall vision of creating an academic utopia. UMass Dartmouth's campus design was considered ground-breaking in its day and remains a monumental achievement.
"Tower Spirits" and "Gerry's Window" have coincided with a series of pilot projects this year, which include scheduled lightings of the Robert Karam Campanile and the installation of hanging gardens, which were completed in time for the 2014 Commencement Exercises. Both the hanging gardens and Campanile were part of Rudolph's original designs of the campus.