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Art and Artists

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Phronesis, by artist Jen Lewin, opens a new window, is a large-scale light sculpture on the South Plaza of the Main Library. Seven of the sculpture’s light pillars are installed outside the Library’s Vine Street entrance, and a single interior light pillar is immediately inside the building's atrium.

Derived from Ancient Greek, the word phronesis is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, opens a new window as "understanding" and "practical judgement.”

With Phronesis, Lewin looks both into the past and the future. Inspired by the search of Dr. Stephen Bertman, a professor of Languages, Literature, and Cultures at the University of Windsor in Canada, Lewin crafted eight large illuminated sculptures, each representing a guiding principle of ancient Greek wisdom:

  • Humanism
  • The Pursuit of Excellence
  • The Practice of Moderation
  • Self-Knowledge
  • Rationalism
  • Restless Curiosity
  • The Love of Freedom
  • Individualism

These principles and their ancient roots remind us of the vast breadth of human knowledge, curiosity, and history, much of which is preserved and shared through the Library.

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