Fisher Sculpture Approved for Hospital

As we were going to press last month, we learned that the Mount Nittany Medical Center Foundation Board approved the concept for a sculpture to be located in the atrium of their main entrance. The suspended sculpture, by Rob Fisher LLC (featured in the November SCM), will be funded entirely by donations and is expected to be installed by spring 2010.

“It’s a new concept in donor recognition,” says Kimberly Neely, director of the foundation for MNMC. “We are using the sculpture as a way to identify donors to the hospital’s Commitment to Distinction campaign. Donors will be able to purchase an element of the sculpture. ‘Element’ is a word that the Fishers use, but it [refers to] each hanging piece of the sculpture. It builds on the concept of a traditional brick campaign.”

A brick walkway campaign, like the one used to fund the State Theatre renovation, would be impractical for a hospital because of wheelchair and walker traffic. “So we’ll ask donors to support the campaign through gifts, but instead of putting a brick in a walkway, we will have Talley Fisher fabricate the elements and then create a sculpture that will be a visible reminder of the community’s generosity to this campaign,” Neely explains.  “I think that we’ll have a lot of response to our request to purchase the elements. After all, people are not only giving to the hospital, they’re creating a beautiful and original piece of art for the county’s only hospital.”

The sculpture will also serve as a tribute to Rob Fisher, who died in 2006. His daughter, Talley, lead artist for Rob Fisher LLC, has designed the piece.

“That’s part of what appealed to us about this idea,” Neely says. “All of the people on the board knew Rob, and know [his wife] True and know Talley. The hospital would be lucky to have a Fisher sculpture hanging in its lobby. So I think it will be great visibility for Talley’s talent and also to the hospital’s significance to the community.” • SCM