Motorists who travel Green Street in Gainesville may notice an artistic addition to the small garden near Brenau University’s John W. Jacobs Business & Communication Building – tall, white letters spelling out BRENAU.
Gainesville businessman and Brenau Trustee Frank Norton Jr., who leads the board’s Facilities Committee, noted the piece is a continuation of Brenau’s improvements along Green Street.
“For some time, Brenau University and the Facilities Committee of its Board of Trustees have focused on strengthening our community presence on Green Street,” Norton said. “This iconic, interactive public art installation signifies Brenau’s commitment to Gainesville.”
The artwork joins two other iconic Brenau symbols – a golden tiger and a flame – along Green Street.
Lucile is an enormous bronze sculpture of a golden tiger, the Brenau mascot. The sculpture was created by Georgia artist Gregory Johnson, who has other works on Brenau’s campuses and at the Gainesville Renaissance. Brenau students named the tiger in honor of Lucile Townsend Pearce, wife of longtime Brenau President H.J. Pearce. The sculpture is the largest bronze statue of a golden tiger in the world and was donated by the Belk brothers in 2013.
The statue will be sandblasted and refinished later this fall.
Luminary 830, a kinetic sculpture of a flame, was created by Mike Roig and represents Brenau’s ongoing support of the arts and the luminary minds of the university’s students. Roig, a North Carolina sculptor, said he took his inspiration for the piece from Brenau’s motto, “as gold refined by fire.”