{"id":37573,"date":"2023-09-29T11:30:10","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T16:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/?p=37573"},"modified":"2023-10-17T01:57:01","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T06:57:01","slug":"the-iconic-statues-of-imsa-and-where-they-came-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/2023\/09\/29\/the-iconic-statues-of-imsa-and-where-they-came-from\/","title":{"rendered":"The Iconic Statues of IMSA, and Where they Came From"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>All photos besides unicorn from IMSA Digital Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalcommons.imsa.edu\/campus_art\/\">https:\/\/digitalcommons.imsa.edu\/campus_art\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), much like the tourist trap in Michigan I visited this summer, is filled to the brim with strange statues of all kinds. From the iconic \u201cYare\u201d to the Virgin Mary in A Wing of the main building, this article will explore the origins of all of IMSA\u2019s statues an<\/span>d dispel your myths about them.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Entelechy<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Entelechy is just another strange IMSA sculpture, right? Wrong! Seismic readings have shown that it\u2019s actually the horn of a 1000-ton unicorn buried beneath IMSA\u2019s campus! (See diagram above.) According to ancient Norse mythology, IMSA\u2019s Ragnarok will be signaled by the ringing of every stop alarm and fire alarm at once, awakening the unicorn, who will proceed to destroy the entirety of campus, leaving only the good students who never let anyone in the building as survivors. The slumbering giant\u2019s name, as told to Dr. Leon Lederman in a dream by a drunken fermion, is \u201cBob.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_37575\" style=\"width: 393px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37575\" class=\"wp-image-37575\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/EnteleBob-245x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"383\" height=\"469\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/EnteleBob-245x300.jpg 245w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/EnteleBob-838x1024.jpg 838w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/EnteleBob-768x939.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/EnteleBob-1257x1536.jpg 1257w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/EnteleBob-1675x2048.jpg 1675w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 383px) 100vw, 383px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-37575\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The real Entelechy.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><b>Art as a Three-Ring Circus<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">With a title that pretentious, it\u2019s got to be good! Its sculptor, Terrence Karpowicz, said it represented the electrons around the nucleus, showing how the IMSA students are both independent from and interconnected with the school community. IMSA\u2019s chemistry faculty proposed a more realistic model, with clouds of sawdust floating around a solid wood core to represent an actual atom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/digitalcommons.imsa.edu\/campus_art\/1022\/preview.jpg\" alt=\"Art as a three ring circus\" width=\"400\" height=\"272\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Art as a Three-Ring circus: The greatest name length to functionality ratio of any object at IMSA.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><b>The Camel\u2019s Gate<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Someone once told me you could throw a particularly short sophomore through the small hole in the center, and he\u2019d come out unscathed. I say, why bother?<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_37739\" style=\"width: 387px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37739\" class=\" wp-image-37739\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/Untitled_HDR2-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Camel's Gate\" width=\"377\" height=\"256\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/Untitled_HDR2-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/Untitled_HDR2-300x204.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/Untitled_HDR2-1024x695.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/Untitled_HDR2-768x521.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/Untitled_HDR2-1536x1042.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/Untitled_HDR2-2048x1389.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 377px) 100vw, 377px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-37739\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Camel&#8217;s Gate: Neither confirmed nor denied to be made from real Camel.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><b>Universe Mobile<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This art piece dangles high above old caf to remind IMSA students every day that, like infants, we can\u2019t think for ourselves and must rely on the school for food and shelter. It also reminds us that the restrictions imposed on students by IMSA, our benevolent parent figure, are for our own good and safety.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 330px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/digitalcommons.imsa.edu\/campus_art\/1045\/preview.jpg\" alt=\"Universe Mobile\" width=\"320\" height=\"400\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">This view of the Universe Mobile proves my theory that Jupiter is a projection by the lizard people&#8230; or maybe that&#8217;s just what they want you to think!<\/p><\/div>\n<p><b>Crossing<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">We\u2019ve all come dangerously close to falling into this sculpture and having it rip into our craniums like a giant can opener. No? Just me? They should at least put some padding on the end, just in case.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_37579\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37579\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-37579\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/MG_5480-300x219.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/MG_5480-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/MG_5480-1024x746.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/MG_5480-768x560.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/MG_5480-1536x1119.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/MG_5480-2048x1492.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-37579\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Crossing: A lawsuit waiting to happen.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><b>Yare<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">An S-Tier IMSA napping spot, Yare was donated to IMSA by the Garbe iron works and was designed by sculptor Scott Wallace. Mr. Wallace, like IMSA students needing to \u201cenhance\u201d their essays, derived its name from a thesaurus, with \u201cYare\u201d meaning \u201cquick to spring to action.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_37738\" style=\"width: 394px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37738\" class=\" wp-image-37738\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/MG_6537_1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Yare\" width=\"384\" height=\"559\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/MG_6537_1-scaled.jpg 1757w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/MG_6537_1-206x300.jpg 206w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/MG_6537_1-703x1024.jpg 703w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/MG_6537_1-768x1119.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/MG_6537_1-1054x1536.jpg 1054w, https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/files\/2023\/09\/MG_6537_1-1405x2048.jpg 1405w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-37738\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">I thought Yare used to be painted red, but it turned out I was just remembering things wrong. It used to be painted yellow.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><b>Blue Heron Nest<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The bird who built the nest in old caf could usually count on a continuous supply of delicious cafeteria food such as apple cores and \u201cmystery meat,\u201d but abruptly left one day when it confused the anguished howls of students working on BC Calculus for coyote calls.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 203px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/digitalcommons.imsa.edu\/campus_art\/1054\/preview.jpg\" alt=\"Blue Heron Nest\" width=\"193\" height=\"400\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">This beautiful fragment of nature hanging above a cold, sterilized environment is a constant reminder of human destructiveness. That&#8217;s deep as hell, I should put that in a college essay.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><b>Sky Gate<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">An IMSA alumnus designed this structure as a method of catching unattended birthday balloons that floated up to the ceiling and leaked precious helium, preventing the choir\u2019s tenors from reaching those extra-high notes at ILMEA. The balloon-catching method never caught on, but the Sky Gate remains an integral piece of IMSA art.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 271px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/digitalcommons.imsa.edu\/campus_art\/1011\/preview.jpg\" alt=\"Sky Gate\" width=\"261\" height=\"400\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sky gate is coming for your balloons, kids!<\/p><\/div>\n<p><b>Memory Sculpture<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This sculpture of the Virgin Mary, watching over A wing with compassion and love, is referred to by students as \u201cOur Lady of Perpetual Test Extensions.\u201d Actually, it isn&#8217;t, I just came up with this to fill space.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>All photos besides unicorn from IMSA Digital Commons, https:\/\/digitalcommons.imsa.edu\/campus_art\/ The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), much like the tourist trap in Michigan I visited&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":811,"featured_media":37574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1019],"tags":[1939,1031,1147,4249],"coauthors":[3970],"class_list":["post-37573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-imsanews","tag-humor","tag-imsa","tag-satire","tag-statues"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/811"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37573"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37763,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37573\/revisions\/37763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37573"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=37573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}