The Work of Randall Hoyt randall@randallhoyt.com 203 444 2243
University of Connecticut: The Walking Wall
On Thursday May 16th, 2002 a small group of faculty and students from the School of Fine Arts at the University of Connecticut met with a team of architects from the New Haven firm, Svigals & Partners. The objective of the meeting was to introduce and present the beginnings of a large scale sculptural project that would span the facades of two buildings on the eastern edge of the University “Mall.” After many meetings, some of confluence, some of contradiction, a collaborative spirit developed over the course of the summer as the two groups, with their different, and often opposing perspectives merged into an effective creative team.
The project was founded on the tradition of applying figures and words to the surfaces of buildings. Through a vigorous dialogue of viewpoints which challenged prevailing forms of figurative relief and textual subject, the project evolved into an evocative exploration of the relationship between the language of the human figure and the letterforms which articulate the life of the mind.
The set of letters are distilled from the twelve unique letters of the name ‘University of Connecticut.’ This limitation is due in part to the budgetary constraints of the relatively expensive mold-making process, but has proved to be of enormous value in limiting the infinite to make way for the possible. This set of letters can be recombined to form thousands of words, some are quirky and mundane, others inspirational or compelling.
They embark on a symbolic journey across the middle of the campus: some travel quickly, striding from building to building while other, more contemplative figures stand still and reflect on the transition. The figures grow dense in places, traveling or standing in groups, while other figures, depicted in low relief, begin to emerge from the wall of the building.
