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Nursing Sundial
Bullfinch Lawn,
Massachusetts General Hospital, Mass
Bronze
sundial mounted on Chelmsford granite
pedestal
Height: 8' Diameter: 10’
Donated by Massachusetts General Hospital
Nurses Alumnae
Nursing Sundial
Sculpture to Honor Alumnae Nurses at
the Massachusetts General Hospital
I would like to tell you about the sculpture that I
have created to honor not only the alumnae nurses at
the MGH but the nursing profession as a whole. The
green space between the two birch trees across from
the Wang Ambulatory Center seemed a perfect place for
a sundial.
The earliest known sundial has been dated at about
1500 BC. Evidence of their existence has been found
in Babylonia, Greece, Egypt and China at about that
time. Although the formal profession of nursing is
much more a modern notion, nursing as a concept is
as old as the oldest civilization known. The sundial
represents that timelessness and further the 24 hours,
7 day a week spent by nurses doing their job.
The bronze dial is 7 feet in diameter. It is round
and represents the cycle of life. Nurses of today are
at the beginning of life and at the end. This diameter
also represents the seven days many perceive it took
to create the world. The granite pedestal that holds
the sundial is 10 feet in diameter and made from Chelmsford
granite, a native stone having a thermal finish. It
is 18 inches high, a height for telling time with ease,
for sitting upon or for sitting on the grass and leaning
against. This sundial will also, indeed, tell time,
sun time!
The space below the Gnomon* is the part of the dial
that represents night. On the left side there is a
quote from Florence Nightingale - “Nursing is
an Art; the finest of the Fine Arts”. On the other side , “Always, always
more to see, more to learn, more to do...to improve both care and cure.” by
Ruth Sleeper 1966 . At the bottom of the Gnoman is an exact replica of the
MGH nurses’ cap.
The figures in the Gnoman represent past, present and future. They also
represent growth as each figure shown is larger than the last. The first
figure (past) is shown carrying a lamp, indicating Florence Nightingale and
the beginning of nursing as we think of it today. The second figure
(present) is shown holding a book, indicating the important educational and
intellectual changes in the profession. The third figure (future) is shown
carrying a Globe indicating the multiracial nature of nurses. Also, nurses
travel more and more all over the world, helping and teaching. They will do
it in reality and virtually through the internet. The Institute for Health
Professionals is a major vehicle to that end.
I have used the Greek goddess as the image for these three figures. Examples
are: Athena (Minerva) who was the goddess of wisdom. Aphrodite (Venus) who
was the goddess of love and beauty. Artemis (Diana) who was the goddess of
hunting, but protected young creatures and looked after maidens in
childbirth. And so, you women in the nursing profession are now shown
publicly and forever as Greek Goddesses on a pedestal!
* A Gnomon is the triangular
plate set perpendicular to the center of
the dial that tells time. |
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Maquettes
(Small Models of Large Scale Pieces)
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