Spring Break
A monument to our time
The Justice Brandeis statue, now and then
by Rachel Pfeffer
Features | 5/22/07
Posted online at 11:27 PM EST on 5/21/07
He sported dreadlocks in honor of The Wailers playing at Springest this year; he has made it into the police log for being the victim of vandalism; and he accompanies astronomy students in their star-gazing. He is none other than Justice Louis D. Brandeis in statue form, created by sculptor Rober Berks as part of the centennial celebration of Louis Brandeis' birth.
Unveiled on November 13, 1956, the metal statue has become one of the most recognized figures on campus.
You may recognize Berk's technique in various busts and sculptures peppered around campus. His unique and recognizable style DESCRIBE made him worthy of capturing the essence of the great Judge atop the knoll in front of the Shapiro Campus Center, where he has and forever will be a reminder of the first Jewish Supreme Court justice after whom this university is named.
According to a Boston Globe article from the early 1990s, Berk's other works have included statues of such high profile individuals as JFK and Albert Einstein, which he created in the 1970s.
Donning a flowing robe, with eyes gazed toward the distance, Brandeis takes on the look of a visionary prophet. A man of progressive politics, Berk planted Brandeis' feet firmly in the ground, but pointing outwards, showing his readiness to move forward.
To capture this image of Brandeis, Berk had to become an expert on his life. The Globe reported, "Commissioned to sculpt the likeliness of Brandeis at age 33, Berks hoped to capture the deceased justice's vigorous search for fairness. In preparation for the sculpture, Berks read books about Brandeis, studied photographs of him and even borrowed the jurist's court robes from the Brandeis family."
To get the right feel of the movement of Brandeis' robe, Berks had his wife wear the borrowed robes on the Staten Island Ferry in New York. They rode the ferry back and forth all day and into the night, the robes billowing in the wind behind her.
According to the Globe article, it was Berks' hope that the public interact with his sculptures. And interact they do.
Unveiled on November 13, 1956, the metal statue has become one of the most recognized figures on campus.
You may recognize Berk's technique in various busts and sculptures peppered around campus. His unique and recognizable style DESCRIBE made him worthy of capturing the essence of the great Judge atop the knoll in front of the Shapiro Campus Center, where he has and forever will be a reminder of the first Jewish Supreme Court justice after whom this university is named.
According to a Boston Globe article from the early 1990s, Berk's other works have included statues of such high profile individuals as JFK and Albert Einstein, which he created in the 1970s.
Donning a flowing robe, with eyes gazed toward the distance, Brandeis takes on the look of a visionary prophet. A man of progressive politics, Berk planted Brandeis' feet firmly in the ground, but pointing outwards, showing his readiness to move forward.
To capture this image of Brandeis, Berk had to become an expert on his life. The Globe reported, "Commissioned to sculpt the likeliness of Brandeis at age 33, Berks hoped to capture the deceased justice's vigorous search for fairness. In preparation for the sculpture, Berks read books about Brandeis, studied photographs of him and even borrowed the jurist's court robes from the Brandeis family."
To get the right feel of the movement of Brandeis' robe, Berks had his wife wear the borrowed robes on the Staten Island Ferry in New York. They rode the ferry back and forth all day and into the night, the robes billowing in the wind behind her.
According to the Globe article, it was Berks' hope that the public interact with his sculptures. And interact they do.
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