Students walking across campus will pass the Science Center and notice the absence of an art installation titled “The Gods.” On April 6, workers removed the three sculptures, which vaguely resemble a hoof, foot, and finger. Each bore the name of a Greek titan: Kronos, Ouranos, and Rhea, from whom the gods of Olympus were descended. They were created by modernist sculptor William G. Tucker. 
According to a University of Massachusetts Boston construction update email sent the weekend prior, “The Gods” was headed for Spain to be displayed at the Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao in Bilbao. Tucker, an internationally known modernist sculptor from Britain, loaned the work to UMass Boston as a component of its Arts on the Point art series, which borrows pieces until a prospective buyer shows. 
Over the past couple of years, the Arts on the Point has shrunk as pieces were bought, or construction required them moved. The giant and bird-like “Huru” was removed last fall to make room for roadwork. 
Arts on the Point is funded by private donors and features works by important sculptors from the 20th and 21st centuries, which are “situated throughout the campus in dynamic relationship to their environment,” according to the UMass Boston website. Retired Art History Professor Paul Tucker and Associate Professor of Art Erik Levine curate and coordinate the series. 
Tucker says they have slowed down their acquisition of outdoor pieces because of construction and other disruptions, but that a new multimedia piece will soon be coming to the Campus Center. Made by Paul Ramirez Jonas, it consists of several flat screen TVs that broadcast information about sunrises around the world in a format that looks like an airline terminal info screen.
“The Guggenheim Museum in NY bought a copy of this piece for their permanent collection, so we are in very good company,” says Tucker. 
Paul Ramirez Jonas is a contemporary artist from California whose interactive art often draws from other texts. He has shown and been commissioned for work internationally.