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Resurgence, 2011, a permanent, commissioned sculpture in Harvard Square.
Resurgence was comissioned by Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre and is located outside their facility at 400 Harvard Street in Harvard Square. It depicts a female dancer, en pointe, in a pose from the climax of Jose Mateo’s ballet, Isle of the Dead. The piece honors Jose Mateo, the founder of Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre and provides a spiritual, uplifting symbol that welcomes people to the historic, Old Cambridge Baptist Church. The sculpture stands
on a granite base of Kasman's design. The bronze sculpture and base
weigh a combined six tons. The total height of the installation is 14 feet
above grade. The sculpture itself is 10 feet tall, 1.5 times life-size.
Kasman
developed the piece over a decade long collaboration with Jose Mateo Ballet
Theatre. Jose Mateo and David Kasman considered a wide range of subjects before
settling on the final composition. Two
of the ballet company’s dancers, Laura Manzella and Angie DeWolfe, modeled for
the sculpture at different stages of its development. Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre
was able to fund the work with a grant from the Fund for the Arts, a public art
program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, as well as contributions
from the Cambridge Arts Council and a number of corporate and private donors.
The
sculpture is installed in an unusual manner that enables viewers to see it from
a wide range of distances, angles and
elevations. Because the sculpture
stands on a single point, where the dancer’s foot meets the granite base, the installation required rigorous
structural analysis, design and manufacture. Kasman hopes that the piece will draw people to Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre and inspire them to learn more
about dance, sculpture and the arts, in general.
Below, are photographs of the finished piece as well as photographs that show how Resurgence was made and installed.
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