Sol LeWitt’s sculpture A Square, A Circle on the New Mexico State University campus is the famed Minimal and Conceptual artist’s only outdoor, site-specific work in New Mexico.
Sol LeWitt, A Square, A Circle
Las Cruces
Visitors walking the main campus of New Mexico State University may encounter a twelve-by-twelve-by-two-foot painted concrete structure forming a circle and a square. The sculpture was conceived by artist Sol LeWitt and is titled A Square within Which Are Horizontal Parallel Lines, Outside the Square, Vertical Parallel Lines; A Circle within Which Are Parallel Lines, Outside the Circle Are Horizontal Parallel Lines. As an example of Minimal and Conceptual art, the artwork’s long title doubles as textual instructions that anyone could follow.
The university commissioned LeWitt to create the monumental sculpture in 1980. Fully completed in 1982, the sculpture is notable for the artist’s first use of molded concrete in such a large artwork and is his only outdoor, site-specific work in New Mexico.
The artist chose a uniform white for A Square, A Circle, and angled each face either east or west to capture visual effects on the cement ribs. Its use of natural light and shadow is essential to the experience of the artwork, as it accentuates the illusion of differing tones and alters dimensionality, changing the appearance of the parallel lines from moment to moment in differing weather conditions.
A Square, A Circle is located along the International Mall near the Communication Sciences Building. The university’s Art in Public Places interactive guide can help visitors find other artworks on campus.
McFie Circle Desert Sculpture Garden, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces | uam.nmsu.edu
