The Fourth Sign

The Fourth Sign is a steel sculpture located on the lawn outside the Art Building at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. It consists of nine straight black steel sections connected end to end that form a broken circular shape, with three sections resting directly on the ground.

The sculpture was commissioned in 1976 and fabricated by Hawaii Welding Company under Mamoru Sato's supervision. Support from the National Endowment for the Arts helped bring this public artwork to the campus and establish it as a lasting part of the university landscape.

The work takes its name from the fourth sign of the zodiac, Cancer, which the artist references through its crab-like form. Visitors walking through campus encounter it as a living symbol integrated into the everyday rhythm of student life and outdoor spaces.

The sculpture sits in an open outdoor space on campus and is easy to find near the Art Building. Since it is fully exposed to the elements, it looks different depending on the time of day and weather conditions.

Shortly after its installation, observers noted that students began physically engaging with the sculpture in their everyday activities. This spontaneous interaction reveals how public artworks on campus can become active participants in student life rather than distant objects to admire.