The Button (officially, Split Button) is a modern art sculpture that lies at the center of campus at the University of Pennsylvania. It was designed by Swedish sculptor Claes Oldenburg, who specializes in creating sculptures of large, everyday objects. (See a photo.)

Specifications

Total cost: $100,000 including transportation and installation ($37,500 from University, $37,500 from the NEA, and $25,000 in contributions raised by Mrs. H. Gates Lloyd, chair of the Visual Environment Committee that chose the piece.)

• Weight: 5000 lb (approx. 2,270 kg)
• Materials: Reinforced aluminum
• Size: 16 ft (4.88 m) diameter

Controversy

When The Button was erected in front of the Van Pelt Library on June 18, 1981, it was met with much controversy. Some students found the structure intrusive, and a poor addition to Blanche Levy Park (or College Green, to which it is most commonly referred). Controversy surrounding the piece has subsided in the years since 1981, but either way, it is now a central landmark and focal point of campus. ^[1]

In Popular Culture

In The Simpsons, the Button can be seen on the college green of fictional Springfield University as Homer performs in a Nirvana-like band in the episode "That 90's Show".

Legend

A legend exists, mainly circulated by students at the University of Pennsylvania, that attributes 'The Button' to the university's founder, Benjamin Franklin. A monument of Ben Franklin in a chair lies close to the sculpture; Legend has it that when this man of considerable girth sat down, his vest pocket button popped off and rolled across the University's Locust Walk. It eventually came to a stop and split into two?hence becoming today's sculpture.

Oldenburg, however, presents an alternative view. He once said "The Split represents the Schuylkill. It divides the button into four parts--for William Penn's original Philadelphia squares." ^[2]

Another campus legend concerns The Compass located further west on Locust Walk. It is said that a student who walks over The Compass on campus before their first exam is doomed to poor grades at the university. The only way to reverse the curse of The Compass is to have sex underneath the button sculpture.

References