Titan

Tucked away in a grove of trees near Prospect House, Titan represents a collaboration of sorts between two longtime friends: the artist, Michele Oka Doner, and the model, Micky Wolfson, a Princeton alumnus and benefactor. The sculpture is perfectly suited to its outdoor setting; the artist’s work is often inspired by natural objects such as leaves, sponges, shells, and branches. Titan suggests not only a human being but also the trunk of an ancient tree or, possibly, a fragment of fossilized coral. It also evokes growth and decay. The process of creating Titan was meticulous: first the artist made an armature scaled to Wolfson’s proportions, to which she added melted wax. Once the wax set, she shaped it with her hands and various tools. The model form was then cast at a foundry. Doner presented Titan to Princeton as a gift in honor Wolfson’s seventieth birthday.