Resurgence, 2011, a permanent, commissioned sculpture in Harvard Square, outside the Old Cambridge Baptist Church

Resurgence was comissioned by Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre and is located outside their facility at 400 Harvard Street in Harvard Square. It depicts a female dancer, en pointe, in a pose from the climax of Jose Mateo’s ballet, Isle of the Dead. The piece honors Jose Mateo, the founder of Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre and provides a spiritual, uplifting symbol that welcomes people to the historic, Old Cambridge Baptist Church. The sculpture stands on a granite base of Kasman's design. The bronze sculpture and base weigh a combined six tons. The total height of the installation is 14 feet above grade. The sculpture itself is 10 feet tall, 1.5 times life-size.

Kasman developed the piece over a decade long collaboration with Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre. Jose Mateo and David Kasman considered a wide range of subjects before settling on the final composition. Two of the ballet company’s dancers, Laura Manzella and Angie DeWolfe, modeled for the sculpture at different stages of its development. Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre was able to fund the work with a grant from the Fund for the Arts, a public art program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, as well as contributions from the Cambridge Arts Council and a number of corporate and private donors.

The sculpture is installed in an unusual manner that enables viewers to see it from a wide range of distances, angles and elevations. Because the sculpture stands on a single point, where the dancer’s foot meets the granite base, the installation required rigorous structural analysis, design and manufacture. Kasman hopes that the piece will draw people to Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre and inspire them to learn more about dance, sculpture and the arts, in general.

photo 83 May 2012