|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
If public art is your thing, you have a wealth of choices here on the Peninsula. The city of Palo Alto has a sizable collection, dotted all around the town. The Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University can boast of the largest collection of sculpture by Auguste Rodin outside of France — with many pieces displayed in its Rodin Sculpture Garden, a complement to the university’s own vast public art collection on display throughout the campus. Now Menlo College has emerged in recent years as another place to enjoy outdoor sculpture.
“Every piece in our collection has been donated or loaned,” said Menlo College President Steven Weiner, “and most are outdoor sculptures displayed across our 40 acres. Collectively, they tell a story about who we are and what we value.”
Locals may remember that Menlo College was the site for the Silicon Valley Sculpture exhibitions, which ran from 2020 to 2022. The event was discontinued after the curator, Katharina Bernau, moved to the East Coast.
“The exhibitions were a joyful celebration of creativity, and we continue to see art as a catalyst for conversation, inspiration and connection,” Weiner said.
The college had another opportunity to enlarge its collection, thanks to the largesse of alumnus and trustee David Irmer. He was instrumental in the development of Arrillaga Hall, the newest residence hall on campus, and wanted to have a site-specific art work installed just outside of its entrance. He commissioned Los Gatos artist David Middlebrook to create a large-scale sculpture that would, according to a Menlo College press release, “enrich campus life and reflect the deepening integration of art and education.”
Middlebrook taught at San Jose State University’s School of Art and Design for almost 40 years and was head of ceramics and later head of the school’s foundry. In an email interview, Middlebrook said that Irmer is not a collector of his work but was familiar with him from previous exhibitions.
“When he approached me about developing a concept to do a major sculpture in front of the residency hall, I was thrilled with the opportunity,” he said.
Middlebrook is a native of Jackson, Michigan, and earned his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa. He was a pioneer of the ceramics movement in the 1970s and began teaching at San Jose State in 1974. His work underwent a dramatic change after a trip to Italy in 1983, where he became intrigued with the creative possibilities of working in stone and marble. Since then, he has maintained a professional relationship with a studio in Pietrasanta, an Italian town with centuries-old marble quarries. Middlebrook’s predilection for materials played a big part in his creation of Impact, the sculpture on the Menlo College camps.
The sculpture is large and imposing and holds its own next to the multi-story residence hall. It consists of a canoe that is balanced atop a hand-carved Italian Carrara marble column that is believed to have been carved in 1519. Next to it lies another column that has been broken into several pieces. There are two conquistador helmets on the sculpture, one crushed and placed on the broken column while the other, intact, sits atop the vertical column.
Middlebrook, who is known for his hands-on approach and respect for materials, explained that the idea for the piece grew from his long interest in the plight of Native Americans.
“The Native American handcrafted canoe was the perfect universal symbol of both Native American culture and the issue of transportation for survival and escape,” he said.
Using the old marble, which is a creamy off-white with grey variegations, was a conscious choice, Middlebrook said.
“Cortez landed in South America in 1519, the same year the column was carved. It’s a valuable authentic Italian marble artifact older than our country. It’s the beginning of white man’s invasion on Native American soil. It’s the story of us.”
Middlebrook used clay and wax to fabricate the other objects in the sculpture. The canoe and the fallen column were then heat baked using sustainable polymer and high-temperature automotive paints. The helmets were also hand fabricated. Middlebrook said that Impact took a little over a year and half to create, from concept to final execution and installation.
“The story of this piece is a reminder of not only the truth of history but the mistakes that have also been made in the past. It is a beautiful group of materials that tells the truth to those who care to inquire,” he said.
Viewers whose education included the history of the explorations of the Americas will most likely recognize the distinctive helmets that are so prominently placed on the sculpture. The canoe, with its precariously balanced oar attached to the side, will also be a familiar Native American object. But what about those who will be perplexed by the combination of forms?
“I think it’s important to execute work that challenges the viewer visually and intellectually. Some people have no problem immediately recognizing the issues presented and many others will enjoy background information,” said Middlebrook.
He said that there will be an informational plaque installed near the sculpture but that he hopes the piece will attract interest just on the basis of aesthetics.
“It is important to me that the work is seen as beautiful and precarious, which seems to draw people into further inquiry.”
On the day of my visit, student athletes were arriving on campus and several were willing to stop and take a closer look at Impact. One student seemed mystified by the piece while another thought for several minutes before responding, “I think it’s about embarking on a new journey – sort of like we are here at college.”
That response may be lacking in historical reference, but Middlebrook would likely appreciate the analysis.
“I hope the students, faculty and visitors enjoy Impact as a culturally stimulating part of the university environment. It’s a big monument and an even bigger teaching tool,” he said.
Impact is on view outside Arrillaga Hall at Menlo College, 1000 El Camino Real, Atherton. menlo.edu.
Pilot’s report of ‘erratically’ flying paraglider triggers search at SLAC campusJanuary 19, 2026 11:20 am
Ownership change brings new flavors to this 70-year-old Palo Alto ice cream institutionJanuary 19, 2026 2:24 pm