These studies explore how a work of art might create curiosity and reflection within the everyday life of the Stanford campus.
The work reveals an image through movement — emerging and dissolving as people pass through the space.

Jane Stanford played a decisive role in the university’s survival following Leland Stanford’s death in 1893, guiding the institution through one of its most precarious periods.

Her bicentennial in 2028 provides a natural moment for renewed reflection on her role in shaping Stanford’s identity and future.

These studies explore how an artwork might invite that reflection through an experience that encourages curiosity, movement, and discovery.

A tall curved form finished in Stanford cardinal red is perforated with a halftone pattern derived from a historical image of Jane Stanford.

From most viewpoints, the sculpture reads as an abstract form. From a particular vantage point, the portrait resolves suddenly into focus, then dissolves again as the viewer continues moving.

Rather than presenting a fixed point of view, the work reveals itself within the rhythms of daily campus life.

The appearance and disappearance of the image suggests presence emerging from absence — echoing how Jane Stanford’s influence continues to shape the university long after her lifetime.

The work invites curiosity and discovery, encouraging viewers to pause, move, and look again.

Developed in anticipation of Jane Stanford’s bicentennial in 2028, the study invites renewed reflection on her role in the university’s origins.

The scale, curvature, and primary viewing position would be refined in response to the selected site, including pedestrian approach, sightlines, and surrounding architecture.

In addition to the perceptual sculpture concept, a figurative approach was also explored.

Due to Jane imagines Jane Stanford at college age, presented without the formal trappings of her era in order to create a more immediate connection with contemporary students.

At monumental scale, the sculpture would serve both as portrait and gathering place — a focal point inviting reflection on the leadership and resilience that sustained the university in its early years.