一件新的公共艺术品现在在马萨诸塞大学波士顿分校的大学大厅外迎接游客：由备受赞誉的艺术家坎努帕·汉斯卡·卢格创作的嬗变。

这个雕塑是首届波士顿公共艺术三年展的特色作品，既是一个纪念性的装置，也是由数百名学生和社区的手组成的纪念和复原力的合作行为。

Presented in partnership with 马塞诸斯州大学波士顿 Arts on the Point and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Program, 转化 is a living memorial that calls upon the collective to reflect on loss, celebrate resilience, and begin the journey of healing.

A towering pair of sculptural portals form the foundation for 转化, each crowned with a buffalo skull cast in resin, based on clay originals sculpted by Luger himself. 在他们之间伸展着一张悬挂着的网，上面装饰着成千上万条黑白丝带，上面写着手写的思考和希望的信息。

Javier Rivas拍摄

视觉上的冲击是直接的，但其含义却更为深刻。 Over the course of six workshops in spring 2025, more than 250 students, faculty, and community members participated in the piece’s creation. Participants were invited to reflect on the prompt “Call back the buffalo,” writing messages on ribbons that were then tied to the sculpture’s mesh fabric.

Luger’s work addresses the near-eradication of America’s buffalo population during the U.S. government’s “War of Attrition” against Plains tribes and also invokes the buffalo as ancestral beings, gathering symbols, and metaphors for Indigenous survival and community restoration.

“It’s one thing for students to be reading theory and history, and it’s another thing for those ideas to be put into a physical form to see it, to hold it, to interact with it,” said Sam Toabe, director of Arts on the Point and gallery director at 马塞诸斯州大学波士顿’s University Hall Gallery. “You don’t want an artist just dropping off an artwork that doesn’t have anything to do with the context that they’re placing it in. Lugar’s collective approach really allows people to have agency in how it’s created, how it’s talked about.”

From anthropology and Native American studies students to campus passersby and attendees at 马塞诸斯州大学波士顿’s 2nd annual powwow, participants took ownership of the piece, inscribing it with stories, memories, and hopes for the future.

照片由Annielly Camargo提供

“During the powwow, we got nearly the last third of the ribbons completed,” said Toabe. “People in our workshops and open events were helping both cut, write on, and tie the ribbons. So it really has been a community project.”

That experiential element is at the heart of Luger’s artistic practice. Known for large-scale works that blend speculative fiction, land-based rituals, and collaborative performance, the New Mexico-based artist creates what he calls “living memorials.” In 转化, the act of tying a ribbon becomes a ritual of solidarity, binding people together across time, place, and identity.

这个项目需要大量的幕后协调才能实现。 Tess Lukey, the curator at the Triennial, played a key role in leading the workshops, and Maria K John, assistant professor in the History Department, helped coordinate students’ participation and worked closely with campus partners to make the project possible.

照片由Annielly Camargo提供

该结构为整个波士顿特定地点的公共艺术提供了更广阔的视野。 三年展以“交流”为主题，汇集了艺术家、策展人和社区合作伙伴，围绕土著、气候、健康和共同人性等关键问题进行创作。 马萨诸塞大学波士顿分校被选为全市20个站点之一。

对于马萨诸塞大学波士顿分校来说，该项目也反映了该机构对公共艺术的长期承诺。 成立于1997年的“点播艺术”（Arts on the Point）将于2027年迎来30周年纪念。 Partnering with the Triennial for this first citywide edition affirms the university’s place in Boston’s broader cultural and artistic landscape.

“Boston is a public art city,” said Toabe. “We have a long history of public monuments and sculptures, and we’re rethinking ways in which people engage with public spaces.”

转化 将在大学大厅外展出至2025年10月31日。 更多信息请联系UHGallery@umb.edu。