"Opening/Closing" is constructed of eight interlocking benches that make the shape of an "S" when joined. Visitors to the Yale Center for British Art will have the chance to sit on the benches during the sculpture's stay at the center this fall. The work was designed by artists Ben Langlands and Nikki Bell.

Two-part sculpture coming together for first time at Yale center

"Look but don't touch" is the implicit message at most art galleries, but beginning on Thursday, Oct. 7, visitors to the Yale Center for British Art will be invited both to touch and to sit on a newly displayed work. The work, titled "Opening/Capture," is a sculpture by artists Ben Langlands and Nikki Bell, who have collaborated for nearly two decades on projects that explore the ways in which architecture fosters cultural and social relationships. The sculpture will be on view at the center through the fall. "Opening/Capture," is actually two separate sculptures that will be joined together for the first time according to the artists' original intent. Constructed of eight interlocking quadrant-shaped benches in white lacquered wood and steel, the benches create two opposing spirals that together form the shape of an 'S.' (Its dimensions are 2.6 x 18.9 x 9.5 feet.) The public is invited to participate actively in the work by sitting on the benches and touching their surfaces. "The work of Langlands and Bell has been collected assiduously by the Yale Center," says its director, Patrick McCaughey. "Their suite of blind embossed prints, 'Enclosure and Identity,' featured prominently in the museum's recent exhibition 'Graphic! British Prints Now' and is considered to be a significant addition to the center's 20th-century collection of prints and drawings." In addition to the benches, the center will also display two maquettes and three drawings that illustrate the process of creating "Opening/Capture." All the works will be on view in the museum's entrance court. Langlands and Bell have collaborated since both graduated in 1980 from Middlesex Polytechnic in England. Their work has been in solo exhibitions throughout Europe and in Japan. They are the featured artists in the exhibit "Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection" on view at the Brooklyn Museum of Art Oct. 2-Jan. 9. The artists have described 'Opening/Capture' and the ways in which the public can engage with their work as follows: "Like architecture, furniture has the physical ability to structure relationships between people, with the possibility of constraining or enhancing communication between them. Everyday examples of this can be seen in conference centers, hospitals, courtrooms or even schoolrooms. It is a phenomenon that persists almost everywhere in our world either more or less explicity. "'Opening/Capture' is a work that encourages visitors to participate actively. It distills and reveals different levels of public engagement, with each other, and with the building. The sculpture flows with centrifugal effect -- transforming between introverse and extroverse modes so that our attention is alternately directed outwards or inwards, depending where one has chosen to sit or stand. The sculpture's poetic flexibility offers various opportunities to experience and consider such systems of circulation, human gathering and change." The Yale Center for British Art, located at 1080 Chapel St., is open to the public without charge Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, 2-5 p.m. It is closed on Mondays and major holidays. For a recorded listing of weekly museum tours and events, call (203) 432-2800 or visit the center's website at www.yale.edu/ycba. T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S Women with breast cancer genes risk relapse with conservative therapies Ex-Secretary of State describes greatest foreign policy challenges facing the U.S. Researchers discover animals will shun others with infectious diseases Exhibit will offer Yale community a peek at libraries' treasures HHS Secretary to talk about Medicare, privacy issues NY governor, UPenn president are year's first Chubb Fellows Solicitor General Waxman to speak at Law Reunion Conference to explore 'dilemma' over use of cost-benefit analysis to make policy decisions Headstone dedication will highlight Divinity Convocation Goethe's contributions to science, modern culture celebrated Grant supports STAR program to promote success in sciences Scientists studying how animals move in perfect tandem Two-part sculpture coming together for first time at Yale center Human figure and landscape explored in Asian art exhibit Exhibit features works of Chinese artist who mixes Western and Eastern styles and symbols Yale hosts day-long conference on Asian studies Stalin's secret plans to invade Alaska among topics discussed at international conference . . . Yale launching annual United Way fundraising drive Series focuses on slavery in early U.S. and the Middle Ages Drug for glaucoma will be tested in clinical trial at the medical school Medical program will focus on topic of breast cancer German scholar to speak to local Humboldt chapter members . . . In the News . . . Campus Notes Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus| Calendar of Events|Bulletin Board Classified Ads|Search Archives|Production Schedule|Bulletin Staff Public Affairs Home|News Releases| E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page