“Twenty of my relatives, ranging in age from a one year old cousin to my 86 year old grandfather, were killed in the holocaust,” wrote Larry Mohr in a letter 29 years ago.
This letter was addressed to Mohr’s lifelong friend Christopher Mooney, who happened to be Fairfield University’s Academic Vice President of the 1980s.
Mohr and Mooney grew up in the Bronx in the 1940s. Mohr was Jewish and Mooney was Catholic. Mooney would attend Passover Seder with Mohr and Mohr would share Christmas dinner with Mooney.
In this letter Mohr entrusted his two sculptures, “VEE-I “and “Crisscross V” to his childhood companion Mooney and Fairfield University.
“As life long friends they always supported each other,” says Professor Philip Eliasoph, of the Visual and Performing Arts department, who cares and maintains for Mohr’s sculptures along with David Frassinelli, Associate Vice President for Facilities Management.
Mohr continues to write that during the time of the Holocaust “a number of Jews were saved by Catholics, or Catholic orders.” And because of this he gave his sculpture, “VEE-I”, to Fairfield University in honor of those Catholics.
And students walk by it everyday.
The vibrant red and sharp angles jump out from the rolling green hills of Fairfield. The presence of the large structure can’t be missed. Or can it?
“I thought they were just random structures,” says Vitch Jean Jacques ’13 when asked about Mohr’s sculptures.
“VEE–I” and its distinct V shape was intended to “stand for a tiny positive step towards the ultimate Victory of people of good will,” wrote Mohr.
But because the sculptures plaque often goes overlooked, it is easy to miss the meaning behind the sculpture. “I find them more abstract and that’s not something I connect to,” said Blanca Aca ’16. “Personally, I don’t think they mean much especially to the freshmen.”
Twenty-nine years ago the dedication of “VEE-I” meant more then just abstract structures.
During Commencement 29 years ago, Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Peace Prize Winner, was prepared to dedicate the sculpture on the behalf of Larry Mohr.
“Later that morning, a violent thunderstorm almost cancelled Commencement,” recounts Eliasoph, “but then the sun suddenly broke through the clouds. [Wiesel] looked up and said to the graduates: ‘You see, look what miracles can happen when Jews and Catholics learn to work together.’”
Eliasoph continues to explain how that moment was a powerful metaphor “of the new world.”
Jean Jacques has never noticed the plaque next to the “VEE-I” sculpture that explains the artist’s dedication. “I have never read the plaque. I didn’t even know that one had a plaque,” said Jean Jacques.
The history of the sculpture and its heartfelt dedication has been lost to the Fairfield University student body today.
“Should we know this person? Did this person go here? Did the President make this?” said Jean Jacques.
This disconnect between the students and Fairfield University’s history has been apparent for years.
Two years ago, The Mirror published an article on the history behind Mohr’s sculptures and described the student’s overall oblivious attitudes to his work.
“I honestly didn’t pay much attention to them, even as an Art minor,” said Tara DaSilva’10 when interviewed two years ago.
A file in the Bellarmine Museum of Art stated, “After the installation of this piece, controversy surfaced suggesting that the two sculptures by Larry Mohr were too modern, and did not fit in with the natural beauty of the campus.”
It would seem as the years passed the sculptures have become unappreciated. And this could be due to their location in-between Gonzaga and Canisius.
“I would put them [the statues] in an area that is heavily populated like near the BCC,” suggested Jean Jacques.
“I’m a commuter so I don’t really see the sculptures because they are located near the dorms,” said Aca.
When interviewed in 2010, DaSilva also mentioned their location limited the sculptures visibility on campus.
But Carey Mack Weber, collection manager at The Bellarmine Museum of Art, disagrees.
Not only is there disconnect from the past and the present but also between the perspective of the students, faculty and staff.
“I don’t think it’s hidden. It’s near Canisius one of the main buildings on campus and Canisius holds art history classes. Those students can appreciate it,” says Weber.
Eliasoph was consulted for the placement of the sculptures and is confident himself and Frassinelli found appropriate angles and points of view for the sculptures.
Even though the sculptures have been a mystery to most students Eliasoph and Weber think they are an integral part of the student’s experience here at Fairfield.
“[The sculptures] enrich the everyday experience of the students. Whether they like it or not it’s thought provoking,” says Weber.
Eliasoph leaves his students with the motto “Art really matters!” and recognizes that these sculptures are “different, challenging, and unexpected” but he hopes they inspire the students “to see the world with fresh eyes everyday”.
Eliasoph ends with one wish: “Let’s hope that as our campus blossoms, students in the class of 2116, one hundred years from now, will walk across the Quad and ask: ‘What were they thinking?'”
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