Nautical Art at UT. Exploring 'The West': An Intriguing Nautical Art Installation at the UT Austin Campus

Hey, good morning everyone. It's Thursday, June 5th. It's 8:30 a.m. and this is Gary. I'm over at UT, um, just on the east side of the UT Tower, um, close to the intersection of Speedway. Well, that's the Speedway Mall down there. And uh 23rd. I'm taking a look at this art installation. I've passed it 1000 times, but very rarely do I stop, uh, to take it in. It's always a very busy part of campus, but of course school is out now, um. So let's take a look at it. It's called uh The West, and it comprises two large nautical buoys. Uh painted gunmetal gray, and each buoy is encrusted with individual pennies. On the left, they're all heads up, and on the right they are all tails up. And the artist encourages us to contemplate themes of navigation. Uh, chance. And masculinity of all things. Um, I prefer to think of it as a study in opposites. The large and the tiny. And it's almost a metaphor for the rhythm of life here at UT that this spot uh during school would be absolutely teeming with hundreds and thousands of people, yet today, I have it all to myself. Hey y'all, this is Gary over at UT. It's 8:33, Thursday morning, June 5th. I'm just on the east side at the base of the UT Tower. And just taking a look at the art installation that sits here. It's called, The West And this morning I have it all to myself. Yeah, school is out. And Campus is very quiet and serene.