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They say art is timeless and spans generations. However, sometimes, as in the case with “Elan Vitale,” it just needs a little nudge in the right direction.
The sculpture was crafted by Maine artist Lionel Marcous in 1968 and willed to the University of Maine in 1975. Originally located near Carnegie Hall, it was moved to a concrete pad between Barrows and Neville Halls in 1976.
Ever since that time, English Professor Harvey Kail has adored and admired the piece but also witnessed it spiral into a state of decay and disrepair due to constant battering by the elements. The sculpture is in a confined space, and with the recent addition to Barrows Hall, it is obscured and hardly seen by the general public.
“[The sculpture] is a dialogue for me: great and round, tall and short, yin and yang,” Kail said. “I think everyone can bring their own perspectives to it.”
He had been looking and thinking for some time about the possibility of moving “Elan Vitale” to a third and final location where it could be viewed and appreciated by members of the community, he said.
Kail turned to the civil engineering department last year, where senior Lauren Swett agreed to study the sculpture’s history and potential for relocation.
“It’s in pretty rough shape,” Swett said of the sculpture. “The idea was to put it in a place more visible.” She completed extensive research into the sculpture’s past, design, composition and possible areas for relocation. The perfect location was found in the field between the DPC Business Building and Neville Hall, she said.
Swett worked closely with Dana Humphrey of the civil engineering department to get the project off the ground. The two brainstormed with Kail and together lobbied the university administration for permission to move and repair the artwork. Engineering firm Sullivan and Merritt was then contacted to discuss a possible move. The firm, responsible for such university projects as the new Bear’s Den, the other Fogler Library steps and various renovations, agreed to move the statue free of charge.
“We’re doing this as a civic service to the university at no charge to help them out,” said Bob Potts of Sullivan and Merritt. The firm did have some misgivings about moving a sculpture in an advanced state of disrepair.
“I just don’t know if it’s going to hold well [on the move],” Potts said. However, the piece was successfully moved using a lull – a cross between a forklift and a bulldozer – straps and mathematical precision. It was removed from its base with jackhammers and blowtorches and repositioned on its new pad with Quickrete cement, among other materials.
“Elan Vitale” is a composite of wire mesh and mortar with an outer concrete shell. While it has been repaired intermittently in the past, it has largely been neglected and something needed to be done to repair it, according to Swett’s proposal.
“The piece’s current state of disrepair as well as its surroundings detracts from the work’s artistic appearance,” the proposal said. “The sculpture’s restoration is possible and the piece could be repaired and maintained at the university for many more years for people to enjoy as it was when it first came to the Carnegie Hall art museum.”
One concern voiced by some members of the campus community was the artist’s original intention. Swett stressed that all efforts will be made to honor Marcous’ vision and that “Elan Vitale” will be positioned in the same manner as it had been in its previous location.
Swett, now a graduate student, and her peers in the American Society of Civil Engineers will undertake an extensive repair project to restore the piece’s original luster in the spring.
“We’re going to place it in the same orientation using materials that mimic it,” Swett said. “We’re going to try to make it look the same way it did before.”
Bangor Daily News