Reported in The Herald

Mall will be CCSU’s center

BY SCOTT WHIPPLE , Staff Writer            07/21/2003
 

NEW BRITAIN -- If Central Connecticut State University President Richard L. Judd has his own way, Central would become a real-life "Meeting of the Minds," a collegiate version of author-entertainer Steve Allen’s award-wining TV series.

The PBS series featured intellectual discussions spotlighting Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Aquinas, Karl Marx, Voltaire, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and other historical figures.

Judd’s stage for "Meeting of the Minds" would be the university’s Center Mall to be completed some time before Labor Day; the conversation piece would be a metal sculpture four feet high and eight feet wide encompassing the histories of CCSU, New Britain, and the relationship between the two.

Clearly, Central’s president wants to leave a legacy, something of beauty and stimulation, that will endure long after he is gone.

"This sculpture will outlast the bricks and mortar," Judd says. "Art like this sustains generations and our imaginations the way no brick building does."

Make no mistake. Though Judd has been called a "visionary," his ideals rest firmly in the 19th century. It’s no anachronism that when it comes to higher learning Central’s president takes his cue from Queen Victoria’s favorite prime minister.

"A university," Disraeli told his queen, "should be a place of light, of liberty, and of learning."

And that is precisely what Central’s Center Mall with its historic sculpture is intended to be.

Judd told The Herald as Central continues its growth into the 21st century, the university is constantly reminded of its roots planted in the 19th and 20th, as well as its place in the future.

"This continuum of progress," as Judd calls it, will be celebrated with construction of the university’s center mall. Sculptures, fountains, waterfalls, ponds, and landscaping designs will enhance the history of the university, the history of the city, and the relationship between the two. To Judd, water, grass and trees represent peace and tranquility, while rocks, walls, walkways and sculptures represent time, permanency and continuity. All are juxtaposed to connect the beauty of the mind with the beauty of the environment.

The artist, Jackson Pollock, once said that art has a life of its own, and that he simply tried to let that life come through.

This is Judd’s intent with the Center Mall Sculpture.

When he told former CCSU president Dr. F. Don James he wanted sculptures that would reflect Central’s past, present and future, James suggested Roger Di Tarando, and offered to fund the first piece. James and his wife own some of Di Tarando’s work. Di Tarando, a Vernon-based metal sculptor, is a former Pratt & Whitney worker who developed his skills while working on sheet metal.

Di Tarando toured the campus and got a crash course from Arlene Palmer of Leaves and Pages on the history of New Britain. Concepts emerged: that New Britain is a city of immigrants, and that it had been a proud industrial city. Visions formed in Di Tarando’s mind: Central’s first diploma; immigrants with suitcases, the farm near the university, the old town church.

"A lot of sculpture today is simplistic," Di Tarando says. "You see it once or twice, then after that you walk by it. I wanted something that would draw people back with layers of thought."

The first sculpture--the past--will be dedicated Oct. 17. Gifts from other benefactors will cover the other two sculptures--present and future--with an overall price tag between 50K and 60K. Next spring "Present" and "Future" will join "Past" in the mall.
 

Judd says he is impressed with Di Tarando’s initial work.

"Roger has put historical objects into a concept that’s beautiful," he says. "This first piece is everything I imagined it would be and more."

Judd believes public art should be both accessible and challenging.

"It opens up possibilities for us to make connections between the sculpture and our own lives, between art and artifact and things we know about the human condition," he says. "The interpretation and existence of public art helps us develop a well-educated citizenry, able to analyze arguments, see connections and make responsible interpretations about the past, present and future."

Judd stands in front of Central’s student center, gazing at the mall area. Construction workers in hard hats go about their business, grading, sanding, cementing. To the uninitiated the area looks like a child’s oversized playpen. Judd, however, views it differently. He’s visualizing musical concerts, poetry readings, and weddings taking place right here in the middle of the campus.

He smiles.

"It’s beginning to look like a university," he says.

©The Herald 2003; reprinted by permission.

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