Public Art Installations
Marguerite Elliot ’71
Three sculptures from Marguerite Elliot’s series Sentinels: Protectors of Wild and Beautiful Places will be installed in Holden Garden on the Pitzer College campus from Augusts 28, 2023 – May 17, 2024. This series gestures to the precarious interface between technology and the environment. Inspired by yet distinct from the ubiquitous cell phone towers that populate our contemporary landscape, Elliot’s sculptures stand watch as they broadcast a warning of the climate crisis.
Earth Sentinel, 2019, steel, powder coated paint, 23K gold leaf paint, wire, 156 x 48 x 36 in. Photo: Christopher Wormald 
California Sentinel: Eco-Warrior, 2020, steel, powder coated paint, 23K gold leaf, wire, 198 x 54 x 54 in. Photo: Christopher Wormald 
Left to right: Fire Sentinel: Guardian of the Flames, 2021, steel, powder coated paint, 23K gold leaf, 175 x 52 x 52 in.; California Sentinel: Eco-Warrior, 2020, steel, powder coated paint, 23K gold leaf, wire, 198 x 54 x 54 in. Photo: Christopher Wormald 
Fire Sentinel: Guardian of the Flames, 2021, steel, powder coated paint, 23K gold leaf, 175 x 52 x 52 in. Photo: Christopher Wormald 
Fire Sentinel: Guardian of the Flames, 2021, steel, powder coated paint, 23K gold leaf, 175 x 52 x 52 in. Photo: Christopher Wormald 
Earth Sentinel, 2019, steel, powder coated paint, 23K gold leaf paint, wire, 156 x 48 x 36 in. Photo: Christopher Wormald 
California Sentinel: Eco-Warrior, 2020, steel, powder coated paint, 23K gold leaf, wire, 198 x 54 x 54 in. Photo: Christopher Wormald 
Fire Sentinel: Guardian of the Flames, 2021, steel, powder coated paint, 23K gold leaf, 175 x 52 x 52 in. Photo: Christopher Wormald 
Installation view of Sentinels: Protectors of Wild and Beautiful Places, Holden Garden, Pitzer College, August 28, 2023 – May 17, 2024
Related Events:
In Conversation: Marguerite Elliot ’71
Friday, November 10, 2023, 4 p.m.
Avery Hall 201
Marguerite Elliot and Emeritus Professor Daniel Segal will discuss Elliot’s transformative time at Pitzer, her subsequent work with The Women’s Building and feminist art movement in Los Angeles in the 1970s – 1980s, and her ongoing environmentally-focused public sculpture practice.
Presented by Pitzer College Art Galleries and the Office of Alumni & Parent Engagement in conjunction with Pitzer College Family Weekend.
About the artist:
Marguerite Elliot is a sculptor based in the Bay Area. She received her B.A. from Pitzer College and taught at the Los Angeles Woman’s Building and Otis College of Art and Design. Her work has focused on feminist, anti-nuclear, social justice, and environmental issues. Her public sculpture can be seen across the United States and in Europe. Publications include The Woman’s Building and Feminist Art Education 1973-1991: A Pictorial Herstory, produced in conjunction with the Getty Initiative, Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980.
WORLD IS WATCHING – MANIFESTO