Description

This item is an oversized slide rule constructed out of clear Plexiglas.

In 1968, MIT formally instituted the Percent-For-Art program, which stipulated that one percent of the budget for every major construction or renovation project at MIT be spent on a public art project. With the renovation of the Stratton Student Center in 1988-1990, MIT contracted Cambridge artist Mags Harries for the artwork. She planned a sculpture modeled after an arctic ceremonial hat woven out of human hair. The proposed sculpture, dubbed “The Hairball” by students, was controversial.

Despite protests, in March of 1990, a wire frame of the hat sculpture was erected in the student center lobby. Signs proclaimed that “Sculpture Testing” was in progress. The next month, after the model had been taken down, an 8-foot-long clear plexiglass slide rule appeared in its place, alongside signs reading “Alternate Sculpture Testing.”

Additional Information

https://hacks.mit.edu/by_year/1990/slide_rule/slide_rule.html