The University of Michigan Museum of Art is permanently installing a 25-foot-tall sculpture by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa of an elongated human head with hands covering both eyes, a monumental piece signifying deep reflection.
The sculpture, “Behind the Walls,” was acquired through a gift from J. Ira and Nicki Harris, longtime university supporters, and was installed this week. Ira Harris is a 1959 U-M alumnus and received an honorary doctor of laws degree in 2012.
“More than almost any other artist working today, Plensa’s work argues for art’s capacity to produce powerfully a sense of public place and expression — to jolt us into thought and heightened perception,” UMMA Director Christina Olsen said.
“This new work is arriving at a critical time in our country and world, prompting deep reflection on deliberate ignorance and collective inaction. We’re deeply grateful to Ira and Nicki for their extraordinary generosity.”
The Harrises, who live in Palm Beach, Florida, are substantial donors to many activities, including endowing the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach position held by Jim Harbaugh, the lead gift for the football locker room, and gifts supporting the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and LSA.
Most recently, they, along with a small group of donors, helped support the acquisition of Mark di Suvero’s “Orion” for UMMA’s permanent collection.
The Harrises are active collectors of contemporary art, including outdoor sculptures. Several works by Plensa are a highlight of their collection.
“Nicki and I are thrilled to help bring ‘Behind the Walls’ to UMMA,” Ira Harris said. “We are captivated by Plensa’s figures, and the moment we saw this work in Rockefeller Center, we knew that its presence at U-M would spark important and powerful conversations about our global interconnectedness.
“We’re especially delighted that Michigan students will be able to appreciate the sculpture on their daily treks across campus. We’re confident it will become an icon for the University of Michigan in the years ahead.”
Workers install “Behind the Walls” in front of the U-M Museum of Art.
(Photo by Scott Soderberg, Michigan Photography)
Workers install “Behind the Walls” in front of the U-M Museum of Art.
(Photo by Scott Soderberg, Michigan Photography)
(Photos by Scott Soderberg, Michigan Photography)
The work of art is made of polyester resin and marble dust and will tower over passersby and visitors when it is installed near the museum’s South State Street entrance. The enormous hands covering the figure’s face simultaneously block the outside world and beckon it to come closer, look harder and think more deeply.
“Sometimes, our hands are the biggest walls,” Plensa has said of the work. “They can cover our eyes, and we can blind ourselves to so much of what’s happening around us. … To me, it’s an obsession to create a beautiful object with a message inside.”
“Behind the Walls” debuted in May 2019 at the inaugural Frieze Sculpture festival in Manhattan, where it was on view in Rockefeller Center. The work garnered international press and praise, with The New York Times calling it “the most Instagrammed and photographed” work of the festival.
The sculpture will take the place of Mark di Suvero’s “Shang,” which had been on long-term loan to the museum since 2009. “Shang” was purchased by a private collector and was removed in October.
