Today was MIThenge . . . a.k.a. "The Infinite Sunset"

The view down the Infinite Corridor during "MIThenge."

In mid-November and late January every year, the arc of the sun aligns with the central axis of MIT, my alma mater, sending a shaft of sunlight down the 825-ft.-long "Infinite Corridor," which opens out through Building 7 (every building is numbered at the Institute) onto 77 Mass. Ave, the lawns before Kresge Auditorium, and beyond that Institute's athletic fields.

And today was the day.  The Infinite Sunset occurred at 4:22 pm (above).

I think I saw my first Infinite Sunset in 1979 - 33 years ago.  Which I admit gives me some pause.  I don't often think in technical terms anymore, much less feel that strange thrill, from contact with the deep mechanics of the world, that nerdy events like the Infinite Sunset conjure.

But that's for me to work on!  For technical data on MIThenge, go here. The next Infinite Sunset should occur at the end of January 2013 (but generally the November ones are the ones to see).

Fold along with MIT (and Mozart)

Betcha didn't know that MIT, my alma mater, is a hotbed of origami innovation. Well it is! And you can savor some of the best pieces to come out of the Institute in recent years right now at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, where "Mens et Manus" (that's Latin for "mind and hand," btw, MIT's motto) runs through April 29.  In the above video, a truly mind-boggling piece of origami is undertaken - a folded version of the MIT seal (it's on display in the show).  If you've got ten hours free, maybe you can try it yourself.

When did this happen? There's a Jaume Plensa at MIT!

Jaume Plensa, The Alchemist

So I'm riding the Dudley bus from Symphony to Harvard Square the other day (to get from Bluebeard's Castle to Jose Mateo), which I hardly ever do anymore now that I'm a grown-up, when suddenly something catches my eye at 77 Massachusetts Ave.

And I blurt out something like "WhatthehellisthatisthatlikeaJaumePlensasculpture?"

And it turns out it is, it is a Jaume Plensa sculpture!  (And also one of the best new pieces of public art seen in this burg in a decade at least!)  It's called The Alchemist (above), and it has been there since last December in honor of the Institute's 150th birthday, on loan from an anonymous alumnus.

That means, though, that it's only staying put till the end of the year, so you only have a month or two to go and check it out.

But seriously - why can't it be there permanently, all you generous MIT alumni?  It's perfect for the Institute, and it's well-sited at 77 Mass. Ave.  (The view from inside, at left.)  As Hub Review readers know, I'm a big Plensa fan, and have cited him as producing just the kind of public art that Boston should be investing in. And here my alma mater was doing precisely that very thing!  Who knew?

Well, great minds, etc.  Now if only those great minds (greater than mine!) on the Charles could come together on a plan to buy this nifty thing!

Yeah, MIT - this means you!  This isn't rocket science!  Buy the Plensa!!

Do the math

This weekend marks the last performances of Gioia De Cari's award-winning one-woman-show Truth Values (above) at the Central Square Theater. I've been a bit reluctant to write about the production, I confess, because I've become a bit involved with it personally - I've been trying to find a way to get it on videotape, and perhaps even on the air. I've come to realize this could be a long process - but in the meantime, you still have a chance to catch this smart, snappy take on what it was like to be a female graduate student at MIT in the 80's. The piece was marketed as a riposte to Larry Summers's famously sexist musings on women in science, but it's actually more a personal journey - and one that, ironically enough, might be seen as backing up Summers's position rather than undermining it.

But that's always the way of honest art - it rarely aligns with a political position, however enlightened. The good news is that because of her honesty, De Cari deftly side-steps political correctness and comes up with a piece that does, indeed, skewer with deadly accuracy the sexist stupidity of so many men in math and science, but also connects with deep questions of self-determination that all young people must face. And it also represents the first time I've ever seen MIT life (I graduated a few years before De Cari enrolled) accurately depicted on a stage in Boston, or maybe anywhere (Truth Values is basically what Good Will Hunting pretended to be). This alone is noteworthy, and actually rather politically intriguing - as were the attitudes revealed in the comments of several reviewers, one of whom noted he had hoped the show would "strafe MIT from the air." I'm glad De Cari disappointed him - indeed, the Institute instead comes off rather well in her account, even if its male denizens don't. After all, MIT has been engaged in a concerted, self-critical push to engage women in the hard sciences for ages (over my years there, the percentage of women students leapt from something like 20% to nearly 50%); if anything, it's society that has lagged behind the Institute. And of course Larry Summers has, too.

The roof leaks?? Really??? No way!!

The roofline of the Stata Center.

For some reason the fact that my alma mater is suing Frank Gehry for leaks and alleged design failures in the Stata Center rates front-page treatment in the Globe and elsewhere. I'm not going to debate the wisdom of MIT's action - apparently major work had to be done to the center's auditorium, among other spaces. Still, I'm amused by its naivete - did it really think modern sealants were that good? As for me, I love the Stata Center regardless - yes, I know it's not top-notch Gehry, and I know he's become a formulaic "starchitect," but it's still wonderful, and one of the best buildings in town - you know that by the way it's gotten under the skin of so many of the locals . . . particularly John Silber (who was responsible for so much outstanding architecture at BU!).

More on public art

What can I say? After the debacle with Star Anna Simpson at Logan Airport a few days back, I was mightily pleased to see the reputation of my alma mater so gloriously redeemed!