Whittier College is the new home of Flukes, a cast bronze sculpture by Gordon Lund L.H.D. ’93 depicting the graceful sway of a pilot whale’s tail. The sculpture, a gift from the Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation, arrived in November and was installed in February after meticulous planning.
Flukes was cast and finished in Philadelphia and transported to Whittier by The Kernz Group, a St. Louis, MO-based company specializing in the transport of artwork. After Flukes’ arrival at Whittier College, Dan Jenkins of U.S. Crane helped the College determine its exact position and angle. “We already knew the approximate location, but very much like figuring out precisely where to hang pictures on a wall, we had to use a crane to move Flukes a bit this way and a bit that way, rotating it a bit one way and another, as well, until the exact position was determined,” said associate professor of art David Sloan.
The stunning piece was inspired by Gund's encounter with a pilot whale off the coast of Nantucket one summer, where he was able to touch the mammal's tail. Left blind in his youth by retinitis pigmentosa, Gordon created Flukes using only his tactile recollection of the event.
Flukes’ location in front of Deihl Hall has quickly made it a conversation piece within the Poet community. The sculpture is the first to be installed at Whittier College in seven years.
