Whitman's Public Art
Carnival, by nationally known Pop artist Jim Dine, is one of 20+ sculptures located throughout the Whitman campus.
This headless abstract version of the classic Venus de Milo was installed in 1997 and stands in a prominent spot across the street from the Administration Building along Boyer Avenue. It is part of a body of sculptural work in which Dine has dramatically reinterpreted one of western culture's most prominent portrayals of feminine beauty.
Dine used a chainsaw to create the sculpture from the trunk of a tree, and then cast the tree in bronze at the world renowned Walla Walla Foundry.
According to one source, "In all of his depictions of the Venus de Milo . . .the head has been removed. However, all the other compositional components of the original have been retained: the left leg juts forward while the right one receded; drapery covers the legs; the pivoted upper torso is exposed; and the arms remain lost to time."
