''John von Neumann'', also known as ''John von Neumann Gargoyle'' and ''Portrait Head of von Neumann'', is an outdoor 1987 copper sculpture by

Wayne Chabre Wayne Chabre (born 1947) is an American sculptor from Walla Walla, Washington. His works have been described as "whimsical". Many of his sculptures are functional, such as gargoyles and downspouts; railings and gates; lighting, pavilions, fountain ...

, attached to the exterior of

Deschutes Hall Deschutes Hall is a building on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon. Opened in the Winter term of 1990, it is home to the university's Computer Science department. The four-story building contains faculty and graduate student offices ...

on the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

campus in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, United States. The sculpture depicts the Hungarian-born American mathematician

John von Neumann John von Neumann (; hu, Neumann János Lajos, ; December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist, engineer and polymath. He was regarded as having perhaps the widest cove ...

. The relief head is made of hammered copper sheet and measures approximately x x . It cost around $2,500. The sculpture's condition was deemed "treatment needed" by

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

's "

Save Outdoor Sculpture! Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS!) was a community-based effort to identify, document, and conserve outdoor sculpture in the United States. The program was initiated in 1989 and ended in 1999. History Save Outdoor Sculpture! was initiated by Herit ...

" program in 1993. It is administered by the University of Oregon. The piece is one of a series by Chabre at the Eugene campus that includes scientists and mathematicians Albert Einstein (''

Einstein Gargoyle ''Einstein Gargoyle'', also referred to as ''Albert Einstein'', ''Einstein'', and ''Einstein Gargoyles'', is an outdoor 1986 sculpture by Wayne Chabre, installed on the exterior of Willamette Hall on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oreg ...

'', 1986), Sir Isaac Newton ('' Isaac Newton Gargoyle''),

Marie Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...

(''

Marie Curie Gargoyle ''Marie Curie Gargoyle'' is an outdoor 1989 sculpture by Wayne Chabre, installed on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States. The hammered copper sheet high-relief of Marie Curie measures approximately x x . It wa ...

'', 1989), James Clerk Maxwell ('' Maxwell & Demon Gargoyle'', 1989), Alan Turing (''

Alan Turing Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical com ...

'', 1988), John von Neumann, and Thomas Condon; a fruit fly (''

Drosophila Fly Head ''Drosophila Fly Head'' is an outdoor 1988 sculpture by Wayne Chabre, installed on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States. The hammered copper sheet high-relief of a fly head measures approximately x x . It was ...

'', 1988); and a school of

zebrafish The zebrafish (''Danio rerio'') is a freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family ( Cyprinidae) of the order Cypriniformes. Native to South Asia, it is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio (and thus often ...

References

1987 establishments in Oregon 1987 sculptures Busts in Oregon Copper sculptures in Oregon John von Neumann Monuments and memorials in Eugene, Oregon Outdoor sculptures in Eugene, Oregon Sculptures by Wayne Chabre Sculptures of men in Oregon University of Oregon campus {{Oregon-sculpture-stub

See also

References