The Boise State community has a new piece of visual art to enjoy.
Crews recently installed a 220-pound steel mobile in the atrium at the Student Union Building. The piece, White Flower, is by artist Robert Kantor.
The piece was a gift to the university’s permanent art collection a year ago in honor of Mary Garrett, Kantor’s primary welder, who died in 2016, said Fonda Portales, university art curator and collections manager. Brent Delong, manager of the Student Union, Karen Lovelund, general maintenance manager, and Don Whitehead, carpenter/foreman, as well as Kantor and his team, worked to install the mobile.
Kantor used the sculptural work of Alexander Calder as an inspiration, said Portales. White Flower is intended to move with the air flow as people pass through the atrium.
“The minimalist forms are complemented by the quiet, kinetic nature of the piece,” said Portales. She worked with Kantor to find the right placement for the sculpture on campus. They hope “the piece will encourage students to look up, explore their surroundings, and think about how art and architecture work together to create a sense of place,” said Portales.
White Flower previously has been exhibited in the Ochi Gallery in Ketchum, Idaho. Kantor also created Rising Star, the red steel sculpture that stands near the entrance of the Boise State Recreation Center.