Pulcinella II

Sorel Etrog (1933–2014)

Mother and Child Sorel Etrog (1933-2014)

Created 1965–1966
Installed 1978

Bronze
Height: 120 in. (304.8 cm)

Located in between Crerar Library and Cummings Life Science Center
920 E. 58th Street

Gifted to the University from the collection of Nathan Cummings

As you climb the stairs between the Crerar Library and Cummings Life Sciences Center, a bronze, sword–like figure begins to poke out over the brick of the stairwell. Installed in this spot in 1978 from the collection of Nathan Cummings, a major university donor, this sculpture is Sorel Etrog’s Pulcinella II. Inspired by the world of Commedia dell’Arte, a semi–improvised form of street performance that originated in 16th century Italy, Etrog drew on the servant character Pulcinella as the source material for this curious, comical piece.

Deep in the Italian countryside in his studio near Florence, Etrog began to work on the sketches that would become Pulcinella II in the mid–1960s. In these sketches, some found on the back of the invoice from the Florentine foundry he was closest to, the prominent, finger–like protrusion began to take form. Etrog seized on Pulcinella, one of Commedia’s classic stock characters, which are made recognizable by their inherent contradictions. Pulcinella is no exception—a generally lazy servant character, he flies into a fierce rage when provoked; he dreams far beyond his station and concocts crafty but impotent schemes to rise above it. The humor of Commedia was meant to appeal to the masses and frequently drew on some of the baser, more graphic tropes, and Etrog does not shy away from that aspect of the history. The sculpture’s present shape is the result of the fusion of a classical form of theater with a modern form of sculpture masterfully blended together in this cast bronze sculpture.

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At 120 inches in height, this piece is an undeniable presence in the courtyard where it stands. Etrog’s earlier sketches show a variety of angles at which the central protrusion could have risen, but the final version of the piece reaches skyward, mirroring the brick promontories that distinguish the Cummings Life Sciences center from other buildings on campus. This piece was not sculpted for this location, but it was specifically chosen by Nathan Cummings from his personal collection as part of a donation of multiple sculptures to surround the new building upon its completion. It was designed to be outside and it stands strong against the busy corner of the campus it now occupies.

Most often surrounded by bikes, Pulcinella II stands erect and phallic in a hidden patio balanced on a bulbous base, grabbing the attention of the curious like its street performing namesake. The round base is the smoothest part of the sculpture; as it rises into the air, the surface of the bronze is increasingly pitted and scarred as the scoring of the metal becomes deeper and more irregular. Covered in a thick, black glaze, the sculpture is extremely noticeable against the light brick of Cummings and Crerar. Its presence is made all the more impressive by the serpentine links that wrap around the central axis of the piece. Heavy and undeniably present, the chain extends east–to–west expanding the space of the sculpture on the patio. This piece does not invite the visitor to sit or lean on it; it aggressively takes up space, insisting the viewer act as an audience rather than a scene partner.

In spite of this aggressive colonization of horizontal space, the primary thrust of the piece is upward. Just like its namesake who forever schemes beyond his station, the sculpture’s phallic central form stretches skyward, drawing to a sabre–like point when it can reach no higher. Whereas Pulcinella’s traditional black servant’s garb forces him into the background of a scene, here the black paint forces the viewer to engage with the presence of the sculpture on this hidden patio. This impulsive, aggressive artwork asserts itself within the space it occupies in the same way the character has to assert himself in a scene. In some ways it is the perfect piece to pair with the beginning of the Medical Campus and the Science Library. Originally paired with Poncet’s Oreillart—a smooth, yonic marble that used to sit at the south entrance to the Cummings Life Sciences Center—Pulcinella II’s aggressively masculine colonization of space and impossible aspirations seem to present the ideal counterpoint to Oreillart’s graceful presence.

A great deal of care and attention was also paid to how the sculptures would interact with the buildings around them; Nathan Cummings and the University’s Vice President of Institutional Development John J. Piva Jr. traded many letters over the course of the installation to thank Piva for the “attention to all of the matters relating to the placement and installation of the two new sculptures.” Even now with Etrog’s Mother and Child in place where the Poncet marble once stood, the southern sculpture seems to represent the cautious, graceful ideals of science whereas Pulcinella II‘s belligerent occupation of space can be said to represent the riskier leaps one sometimes must take in research. This balance of the rational and irrational can be seen in the sculptures themselves as well; the much more physically grounded and rounded Etrog work to the south still reaches forward and upward while the belligerently stretching and pointed Pulcinella II is weighted down by the heavy links looped around the base. Etrog captured the spirit of a centuries old stock character, and Nathan Cummings embraced the contradictory nature of that character in his selection of the perfect sculptures to bracket the Life Sciences Center.

Written by Lauren Eames, BA/MA 2017

Artist profile

Sorel Etrog

(Romanian-born Canadian, 1933–2014)

 

Sorel Etrog

Biography

Sorel Etrog’s work spanned three continents and 60 years, and was marked by a unique visual vocabulary and interactions with many of the twentieth century’s most distinguished theater professionals. His artistic career began in Tel Aviv after his family emigrated from Romania to Israel after World War II. He studied the fine arts at the Institute of Painting and Sculpture in Tel Aviv where he garnered his first solo exhibition, which in turn led to a scholarship at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

In New York he gained recognition for his work from his early solo shows among Canadian art dealers, which lead both to his Canadian citizenship and his role as one of the sculptors representing Canada at the 1966 Venice Biennale. An accomplished poet and writer as well as sculptor, Etrog collaborated with a number of prominent playwrights and authors as a writing partner and illustrator.

While he did create smaller, more personal art works, the majority of his artistic production was meant to be viewed in the public arena. The University of Chicago’s Mother and Child and Pulcinella II both draw on Etrog’s interest in the primitive and in its intersection with contemporary, mechanical visual references.

Written by Lauren Eames, BA/MA 2017

Sources

John J. Piva Jr., letter to William B. Cannon, July 11, 1977

Photos No.52.12.1-3 “Untitled,” c.1965; Period 4 1964/5-1967, Florence Studio; Documentation of Art Work; Sorel Etrog Fonds, Art Gallery of Ontario (Ontario, Canada)

Sketches No.29.1.1-3 “Untitled,” c.1965; Studies -Part 1; Preparatory and Experimental Works; Sorel Etrog Fonds, Art Gallery of Ontario (Ontario, Canada)

Further Reading

Rudlin, John. Commedia Dell’arte: An Actor’s Handbook. London: Routledge, 1994

Petterchak, Janice A. To Share: The Heritage, Legend, and Legacy of Nathan Cummings. Rochester, IL: Legacy Press, 2000

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