{"id":9275,"date":"2021-04-01T21:07:37","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T21:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/2021\/04\/20\/furman-humanities-center-sponsors-el-tiempo-one-sculpture-of-the-wings-of-the-city-collection\/"},"modified":"2022-09-07T15:39:45","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T19:39:45","slug":"furman-humanities-center-sponsors-el-tiempo-one-sculpture-of-the-wings-of-the-city-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/furman-humanities-center-sponsors-el-tiempo-one-sculpture-of-the-wings-of-the-city-collection\/","title":{"rendered":"Furman Humanities Center sponsors ‘El Tiempo,’ one sculpture of the ‘Wings of the City’ collection"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Michele Speitz, associate professor of English literature and director of the Furman Humanities Center.<\/p><\/div>\n

In conceptualizing and building the Furman Humanities Center, Director Michele Speitz and her board of directors have confronted a long list of decisions. From mission to goals to programming, the choices have been numerous and not always easy.<\/p>\n

This one was.<\/p>\n

When Speitz learned about an opportunity for the Humanities Center and Furman to sponsor one of the installations in the \u201cWings of the City\u201d<\/a> public art exhibit to arrive in downtown Greenville, South Carolina, in April, she jumped on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt an institution like Furman, we would want to support those intersections between the arts and the humanities, and between the sciences and culture \u2014 not just within the university’s bounds but within the community,\u201d she said. \u201cWe just won the Carnegie award for community engagement, so we are in the top tier of universities that strive to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

This particular public art exhibit \u2013 and the specific sculpture Furman is sponsoring, titled \u201cEl Tiempo\u201d \u2013 is especially compelling and a perfect match for the Humanities Center\u2019s mission to support diversity and inclusion. Created by world-renowned Mexican sculptor Jorge Mar\u00edn, \u201cWings of the City\u201d has never been on display in a community east of the Mississippi River before.<\/p>\n

The collection of nine bronze sculptures will be installed in Falls Park and on the Peace Center campus in April and will remain in Greenville until October.<\/p>\n

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“El Tiempo,” sponsored by the Furman Humanities Center, is one of nine sculptures that make up “Wings of the City.”<\/p><\/div>\n

According to Adela Mendoza, executive director of the Hispanic Alliance SC, the collection promotes a community-wide dialogue and offers a bridge to Mexican culture.<\/p>\n

\u201c’Wings of the City\u2019 highlights the importance of migration and the cultural exchange that enriches societies,\u201d Mendoza said in a news release from the City of Greenville. \u201cThis world-class exhibition celebrates the global spirit of the Upstate \u2014 symbolizing human connection across distance, and the role of art as a universal language.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city of Greenville and the Hispanic Alliance of SC collaborated to bring \u201cWings of the City\u201d to Greenville. Mar\u00edn\u2019s work has been exhibited in museums in Europe, Asia and North and South America. Alas de M\u00e9xico, the iconic sculpture from the \u201cWings of the City\u201d collection, is on permanent display in 13 cities on three continents. Previously, the \u201cWings of the City\u201d installation has been on display in cities in Texas, Colorado and California. The sculptures are expected to draw visitors from across the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow more than ever, it is important to be able to see all our community members holistically,\u201d Speitz said. \u201cThis is an opportunity to be front and center in one of our most prized public spaces to see ourselves through these sculptures from Mexico. This art will come here and will have such a big impact because it will remind us of our shared humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speitz selected \u201cEl Tiempo\u201d specifically because of how it resonates with the Humanities Center. The artist\u2019s description of \u201cEl Tiempo\u201d says in part: \u201cThe composition, modeled in Classical proportions, reminds us of archeological ruins; broken objects that wait for us to tell the story behind them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo much of the work of humanities,\u201d Speitz said, \u201cis exploring narratives and stories. And often we don\u2019t yet have all the stories that are out there and we have to do the hard work of diving into the archives or working with communities to recover stories not yet told. So when I read about this sculpture, the light bulb went off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speitz said a number of opportunities to engage Furman students through various courses with the exhibit are under consideration for the upcoming fall.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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