Healthy Lives, Healthy World

Sculptures for the School of Public Health

Creating a large work of art that captures the mission of public health and inspires all who view it has been both a challenge and a delight for sculptor Kathryn Field. Following a fall 2002 dedication, her work, “Healthy Lives, Healthy World,” welcomes and intrigues visitors to the school’s lobby. Field’s sculpture, the gift of friends of the School of Public Health, represents the concepts of community, individual health, and environmental awareness. Life-sized figures of a mother and child and of a grandfather and a young girl interact beside and on top of two spherical forms representing the world. Together they are designed to cast fascinating shadows on the large lobby’s curved walls. Branches and birds representing public health’s environmental concerns sit atop a column near the entrance and to the right of the information desk.

“I hope that people will find joy in the sculptures and gain a feeling of adventure and discovery from seeing them,” Field says. “I thought it was very important that different generations be represented. I hope this work will make those who see it think of their own children or someone young whom they have helped, and that it will encourage them to take a risk or try something daring.”

Kathryn Field puts the finishing touches on one of the sculptures for the School of Public Health lobby.