ECLIPSE INSPIRES ART

Area artists install sculpture, mosaic at Mather Planetarium

While much of the hoopla had faded after Monday’s solar eclipse ended, the sun still shone brightly for about 100 art lovers on the West Chester University campus at the Mather Planetarium.

The evening’s event, Celebration of the Mather Planetarium Beautification Project, featured the unveiling of a pair of out-ofthis-world art installations.

West Chester artist Rhoda Kahler, Class of ’94, designed “Constellation,” a glass mosaic circling the doorway of the planetarium’s main entrance.

The colorful work includes what the artist said is a WCU space shuttle and WCU satellite.

Kahler said she spent a good deal of time researching the sky and stars.

“My work is all about texture,” she said.

Cochranville artist David Beck designed the 1,350-pound, nine-foot-tall “Sun Sculpture.”

Beck’s art contains yellow and blue and features an internal

solar-powered light source that will purposely react with Kahler’s nearby artwork. The art’s yellow disk, or sun, will light up and shine on the mosaic.

“Hopefully, hundreds of thousands of students will see it as a learning tool,” Beck said.

Dr. Jack Waber, interim dean, College of Sciences and Mathematics, said that the earlier eclipse and the art give “some perspective of who we are in the universe.”

WCU President Chris Fiorentino said that first impressions are important and public art is often viewed favorably by prospective students and their parents.

The new art helps to celebrate both science and art, according to Fiorentino.

“Science and art naturally overlap,” he said. “Artists and astronomers tend to see their world differently than the rest of us.”

John Baker, WCU emeritus professor of art and former chair of the Art and Design Department, is pleased that the artists have connections to the university and community.

“I like having local artists’ work on campus,” Baker said, through a release. “It reinforces the strong arts community in the county.”

Planetarium Director Karen Schwarz said the courtyard improvements in the shade of the planetarium dome will make it easier for the public to find the tucked-away planetarium entrance.

“It’s much more welcoming,” Schwarz said. “It’s the accessible entrance, the name is backlit, the inscription below that is illuminated, and the artwork draws people in.”

Dr. Jen Bacon, interim dean, College of Arts and Humanities, looked around the cozy space filled with a demonstration garden, sunflowers and the new art, and said she was pleased by the “teamwork” shown between the arts and sciences programs.

The project’s benefactor is Helga Procht Knox, Class of ’79. The Sun Sculpture was given in memory of Helga’s husband, George M. Knox Jr.

Two hundred stars, hanging from the walls of the planetarium, may be purchased to support the Mather Planetarium by visiting www. wcupa.edu/sciences-mathematics/earthspacesciences/ planetarium/donate.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Celebrating new art at West Chester University are, from left: Jack Waber, interim dean of the College of the Sciences and Mathematics; Helga Knox, arts benefactor; Christopher Fiorentino, WCU president; Jen Bacon, interim dean of the College of Arts...

SUBMITTED PHOTO David Beck’s sculpture, “Sun Sculpture,” foreground, and Rhoda Kahler’s mosaic, “Constellation” are the newest additions to the entrance way at West Chester University’s Mather Planetarium.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Artist Rhoda Kahler shows off her mosaic sculpture, “Constellation” at its unveiling at the West Chester University Mather Planetarium.