Iron & Glass

Pratt Sculpture Park Part II: Then, Now & Everything in Between

Post submitted by Kelsey Kiantoro, Archives and Digital Initaitives Graduate Assistant at Pratt Institute Libraries. This is the second post in a series on Pratt Institute's Sculpture Park. For the previous post, see Tracing the History of Place and Landscape: The Sculpture Park by Chloe Innoue from September 2025.

On the Brooklyn Campus of Pratt Institute, the sculptures are a defining element alongside the historic red brick buildings. We can learn about these objects from the label text paired with each sculpture on the campus, as well as the growing collection of related materials in the Pratt Institute Archives. Recently digitized slides taken by Peter Bellamy from the 1990s sparked the beginning of our journey to find the more dynamic story behind the Pratt’s campus and its sculpture collection. At the same time, we discovered the David Weinrib memorial exhibition (2016) from the Exhibition Department’s collection. This discovery provided more puzzle pieces that enriched the story, revealing that Weinrib, a master of variety, dedicated almost two decades of his life to creating the symphony of sculptures we see in our beautiful campus today.

Left: Photograph of Sandy Macleod's Uplifting (2000) from the cover of the Pratt Sculpture Park brochure from the 2000s. Right: Detail of the banner from the Pratt Student Portal featuing a distorted image of Sandy Macleod's Uplifing.

The Pratt Sculpture Park was established in 1999 and opened to the public as one of the ten best sculpture parks in New York City. It was curated by David Weinrib, who taught sculpture, three-dimensional design, and ceramics. The 25-acre landscaped grounds of the Pratt campus serve a range of ever-evolving purposes across educational, cultural, historical, social, and political dimensions.

Processing the Collection

As digital archivists in the Graduate Assistant (GA) program, Chloe Inoue and I had the opportunity to create an exhibition on the third floor of the library for the Fall 2025 orientation week. Our primary goals were to prepare the exhibition and encourage access to the Archives’ digital collections, showcasing how each item connects and reveals its unique narrative. We put our researcher hats on while using our archival knowledge to guide the search. With assistance from Travis Werlen, Digital Initiatives Coordinator, Brendan Enright, Institute Archivist, and Johanna Bauman, Associate Director for Collections Management, we were ready to take on this challenge.

Pratt Sculpture Park promotional brochures dated from 1999 to 2006 laid on out on a table in preparation for planning an exhibition about the Sculpture Park.

The Building and Grounds Collection contained photos of Library Park, structural plans, Sculpture Park brochures, and David Weinrib's curatorial diary. Other materials included presidential notes and Gateway, Pratt’s Community Newsletter. We also processed the memorial exhibition materials for Weinrib and Peter Bellamy's slides. Fellow Archives GA Xavi Danto discovered an untitled disk that documents part of the sculpture installation. Seeing these connections emerge, it quickly felt as though the collections wanted to tell their own story.

Diary of the Sculpture Park

Tracing the sculpture park's origins, David Weinrib's curatorial diary recalls a significant moment: "The photo show was a big success and is now touring. A year later, a large-scale sculpture was being offered to the campus. So, I got involved again, this time as an independent curator." His 1998 exhibition Sculptors and Their Environments, at Pratt Manhattan Gallery, was the precursor to an outdoor sculpture show, laying the groundwork for the Sculpture Park.

Front and back of the invitation for the exhibition Sculptors and their Environments (1998). Pratt Institute Archives Department of Exhibitions Collection.

The modest budget, which initially supported only three sculptures, was expanded to accommodate 30 sculptures, thanks to the efforts of Weinrib, Pratt Trustees, and then president Thomas F. Schutte. Weinrib’s curatorial diary chronicles his nine months of "very concentrated work" as a curator, scouting pieces and meeting with all the sculptors. Coordinating the logistics of choosing, moving, and site installation planning was a much larger job than he had ever imagined, working with his assistant curators, Harry Gordon and Matt Dawson. 

This curatorial diary reveals a complex adventure of the aesthetic and social aspects of the development of Pratt’s Sculpture Park. How the collection developed gives an in-depth insight into what happened during those nine months, bringing to the public a vision of contemporary sculpture that showcases one of the earliest arts practiced by humans. Weinrib concluded his curatorial diary with this passage:

"Inside the depths of a damp prehistoric cave at Lascaux in Southern France, famous for its wall paintings, a small sculpture of a bison was discovered, still in damp clay. As if it had just been completed, preserved for thousands of years by the cave's humid atmosphere."

Approximately 15,000-year-old bison sculpture in Le Tuc d'Audoubert cave, photographed by France Parkyn, Ernest Albert, b. 1857. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

1999, Pratt Sculpture Park's Inaugural Collection

The vision outlined in Weinrib's curatorial diary took shape in the inaugural collection of the Pratt Sculpture Park. Based on the 1999 Sculpture Park Brochure, which contained 26 sculptures, these works were chosen to enrich students' store of visual memories, a fund they would draw on during their creative lives. All pieces were carefully selected to provoke thought and inspire artists, designers, and writers.

Welcoming Hands (2000) by Louise Bourgeois

One of Louise Bourgeois's The Welcoming Hands in the Pratt sculpture Park as part of the inaugural collection, 1999. Photographed by Peter Bellamy, ca. 1990s. Pratt Institute Archives Photograph Collection

In his diary, Weinrib writes about this series of bronze hands, which draws on the theme of immigration. Louise Bourgeois was 86 years old and still working hard when the diary was written, circa 1997. She is also part of the Sculptors and Their Environments (1988) exhibition. The Welcoming Hands comprises six bronze sculptures set on granite blocks: five clasped hands and one baby's hand, all one and a half times life size, created for Ellis Island, through which millions of immigrants passed. In 1999, two sculptures were installed at Pratt while others remained at Ellis Island. Multiple versions of Louise Bourgeois's 1996 sculpture The Welcoming Hands exist in different locations. The series of five bronze sculptures has been in the Tuileries Garden, France, since 2000. They were initially intended to be near the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City, but were moved after concerns that some might view them as dismembered body parts. The six bronze sculptures were installed in the museum's Giardino della Meridiana in 2024, representing Bourgeois's relationship with her assistant, Jerry Gorovoy. The other two locations are the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, in 2019, and Art Basel, Miami Beach, in 2018.

Subway Gater and Manhole Cover with Alligator (ca.1990) by Tom Otterness

Left: Aboveground Tom Otterness's Subway Gate and Manhole Cover with Alligator in one of the Pratt sculpture Park brochures. Photographed by Peter Bellamy, ca. 1990s. Sculpture Park Brochure. Right: Underground Tom Otterness's Manhole cover with Alligator is currently at the MTA Train station as part of Life Underground's Sculptures in the 14th Street Station, Platforms A, C, and E. Photograph by Alain-Christian. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.

Many New Yorkers passing through the 14th St. and 8th Ave. subway station encounter these bronze figures around the platforms. As I delved into the archives, I uncovered the historical journey of these sculptures. They were initially housed in the Pratt Institute Sculpture Park, which connects us to the past. The artist, Otterness, drew inspiration from Walt Disney cartoons, noting their subliminal messages of violence and cruelty. Titled Life Underground, this political cartoon-inspired project was commissioned during the station's 1990s renovation. Despite its name, the project wasn't always underground. Otterness explained: "I finished much of the original work in five years, but the renovation took ten years, so I had a chance to show them aboveground in a few places." One of them was in the Pratt Sculpture Park. The installation was completed in its current subway location in 2004.

Sculpture in Place

Left: View of crane being used to hoist The Big Ingot using a heavyweight crane in 2007. Right: David Weinrib and his assistant shown during the relocation of Serra Sculpture, 2007. Note the contrast between Weinrib’s hands and the hook used for the sculpture installations. Records of the Department of Communications and Marketing

The discovery of  photographs depicting the 'Relocation of Serra Sculpture 2007' from Records of the Department of Communications and Marketing reveal more than just documentation of when one of Richard Serra's Big Ingots was relocated on campus. It captures the challenging process of installing these giant outdoor sculptures, as well as the massive scale of pieces like the Serra sculpture, illustrating the planning, equipment, and dedication required for their relocation. 

Despite his age, Weinrib was always hands-on. He oversaw the installation of the piece, emphasizing his strong commitment to the Sculpture Park. These images document the labor and logistics that brochures often overlook, pointing to the engineering behind the monumental task. Heavy-duty gantries and specialized rigging were necessary to position multi-ton steel plates, and the careful movements of specialists demonstrate the need for caution to protect both the artwork and the park. Reflecting the physical risks and artistic pressure to fulfill the artist's vision underscores the invisible problem-solving and expertise required to turn a curatorial concept into a permanent installation.

2020-Now, Pratt Sculpture Park

After almost three decades of dedication, Weinrib passed away in 2016, and the Institute honored him with a memorial exhibition. The sculptural symphony he envisioned has grown from 26 pieces to around 70, expanding like the surrounding trees. For Weinrib, the sculpture park was conceived as a dynamic classroom, inviting sculptors to participate in an ongoing project that provides the public insight into the current state of sculpture and the legacy of this ancient art form. This outdoor learning space has become the most extensive contemporary sculpture park in New York City, where visitors can integrate art into their lives through reflection and contemplation.

Students and visitors experience diverse sculptural voices from renowned artists, including Shin Sang Ho, Mark di Suvero, Tom Otterness, and Richard Serra, across the 25-acre Brooklyn campus. Open to the public during the day, this space fulfills Weinrib's vision of art as an accessible form of education rather than an isolated display. Here are some pieces from the current collection that caught our attention.

Bench (2000) by George Sugarman

   
Left: George Sugarman's Bench which was one of the works in the inaugural collection with a cat enjoying the piece. Photographed by Peter Bellamy, ca. 1990s. Pratt Institute Archives Photograph Collection. Right: George Sugarman's Bench photographed in 2025 with students from the film department. All rights reserved.

This sculpture has been a favorite since the park's early days. In fall 2025, film students gathered around it during the first week of the semester. While photographing the sculpture,I met these students. "I like it here. It's relaxing, and I'm just chilling and people watching. What's the title of this sculpture?" asked Mia, one of the students. "Bench," I answered, and they laughed.

This interaction captures how the Sculpture Park functions as public art. To these students, it isn't a historical relic to be studied from a distance but a backdrop for their everyday lives, a stage for their first-week jitters and creative inspiration. It is a place for a break, a point of conversation, and a visual element in their student film project. The laughter over the sculpture's simple, functional name blurred the line between educational and public space, proving that great art can be both profound and unpretentious. Sugarman was renowned for his large-scale, painted metal sculptures and for supporting young artists through his foundation. This scene perfectly embodies his legacy: art meant to be lived with, not just observed.

Uplifting by Sandy Macleod (2000)

Sandy Macleod's Uplifting on display in the rose garden behind the library in the Pratt Sculpture Park from the Pratt Institute's Sculpture Park page.

This sculpture appears in the current sculpture park guide. MacLeod works with found industrial objects, transforming them into art. She explains: "I grew up in Pittsburgh, and the industrial landscape has been a major influence. For seven years, I was a studio assistant to Mark DiSuvero." She adds, "I feel a strong connection to the wasteland of industry. These half-decayed objects are relics, heavy with their own histories." DiSuvero was one of the earliest sculptors in Pratt's Park, linking MacLeod's work directly to the park's vision.

In my view, MacLeod’s work resonates deeply with the spirit of Pratt; hence, it has been used in some student-related materials. Her dedication to preserving the history and inherent character of these objects suggests an authenticity that reflects the Institute's motto: "Be true to your work, and your work will be true to you." Rather than imposing the materials, MacLeod allows their past lives to guide her process, transforming remnants of industry into sculptures rich with memory and meaning. In this way, her practice seems to echo the ideals expressed in the Pratt seal, the union of “LABOR-SKILL,” and “ART." It can also reflect New York's industrial past or serve as a compelling sculpture. Of course, this is just one way to interpret her work—a personal perspective, like her materials, remains open to new ideas and meanings for the viewer. To learn more about the Sculpture Park, see images from The Evolution of the Pratt Institute Sculpture Park exhibition, explore the history and evolution of the Sculpture Park from 1999 to 2000, and learn more about David Weinrib's life.

Detail of the exhibition The Evolution of the Pratt Institute Sculpture Park on the third floor of the Pratt Library in Brooklyn, 2025.

Looking Ahead

Reviewing the promotional brochures that document the growth of Sculpture Park reveals their importance to park curators, faculty, students, and the current development team. Tracing the park’s history through these brochures and cross-referencing sculptures with their location numbers on the reverse side requires significant time and attention, underscoring the need for more streamlined information.

Imagine a sculpture student cohort eager to learn more about these sculptural landscapes. With an interactive map, they would be able to discover the story behind each piece, its artist, and its evolving place in the park’s landscape. As students explore, they would connect with the broader history of Pratt Sculpture Park and develop a greater appreciation for its ongoing evolution. The map would allow users to ‘flip’ through the park’s history like a visual diary, transforming fragmented archival materials into a single, dynamic format. The interactive map would serve as a supplemental learning and maintenance tool, enhancing, not replacing, the in-person experience of the park.

Screenshot of a prototpye for an interactive map of the Pratt Sculpture Park.

As part of this project, I created an interactive map prototype that allowed users to explore sculptures from 1999 to 2000 and view their exact locations within Pratt Sculpture Park in a single view. Each artist is linked, allowing visitors to learn more about them with a single click. The map provides an overview of the park's curatorial evolution based on archival brochures. It also helps maintain and track sculptures currently on loan. Some years are missing due to incomplete records, but ongoing research aims to fill these gaps. In the future, this resource can be further developed and shared online, sparking new conversations with artists, past and present, and deepening our sense of art, place, and community at Pratt.