History of the Campus Sculptures

The sculpture at the center of the campus represents the educational process, moving from basic knowledge to complex ideas. The sculpture base includes three simple shapes: circle, triangle, and square. Ascending the sculpture, these basic shapes are transformed into more complex forms: the ellipse, parallelogram, and isosceles triangle. Similarly, through education, an individual is continually transformed: growing, changing and understanding more complex ideas and thoughts.

The sculpture is unnamed and was designed by Bob Watkins of the DLR Group (formerly Lescher & Mahoney). Lescher & Mahoney were the initial master planners for the first phase of the campus.

The Idea for the Sculpture
Lescher & Mahoney knew they wanted to put some kind of sculpture in the center of the campus, but didn't know exactly what. While designing the campus model, Bob went to a shop to pick up materials for the model. He found some metal tubes there in the three basic shapes (circle, triangle and square) and bought them. As he played with them, Bob realized that cut on a slant they changed shape into more complex forms—reminiscent of the educational process.

Mirror Image

Mirror Image was designed by Alan Hochman and is made of Desert Gold Travertine. Water bubbles out the top and flows down the stone into a shallow pool. Hochman says on his website (www.stoneandwater.com) that his vision is "bringing life to the inert stones and giving voice and movement to the water."

Mirror Image is located in the courtyard between G and K Buildings.

PVCC Archivist  Dixie Klatt dixie.klatt@pvmail.maricopa.edu 602-787-7200