John von Neumann, Copper sculpture at Deschutes Hall, University of Oregon, United States.
John von Neumann is a hammered copper relief head by Wayne Chabre, mounted on the exterior of Deschutes Hall on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene. The portrait measures about 3 feet by 1.5 feet by 1.5 feet and was made from sheet copper for roughly $2,500.
Wayne Chabre made the hammered copper head in 1987 for about $2,500, and the University of Oregon administers it. In 1993 the Smithsonian's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program rated its condition as "treatment needed." It belongs to Chabre's series of scientist and mathematician heads on the Eugene campus, alongside Einstein (1986), Turing (1988) and Curie (1989).
The name John von Neumann reflects one of the 20th century's most influential minds in mathematics and computing. Walking past this portrait on the building exterior, you see a face that represents decades of groundbreaking theoretical work.
The head hangs on the exterior of Deschutes Hall, on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, where it can be seen from the walkway below without entering the building. It measures about 3 by 1.5 by 1.5 feet, so look up at the wall rather than at eye level.
The piece is one of a series of hammered-copper gargoyles by Wayne Chabre on the Eugene campus, alongside heads of Einstein (1986), Alan Turing (1988) and Marie Curie (1989), plus a fruit fly and a school of zebrafish. The Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! survey in 1993 rated its condition as needing treatment.
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