By Dan Elliott

There have been some new additions to the Midcoast Campus in recent weeks, coming in the form of large, monolithic slabs of granite. These abstract, almost otherworldly installations have already begun capturing the imagination and wonder of passers-by, begging the question: What are these strange objects, and where did they come from?

The answer, it seems, is much more terrestrial. The pillars of stone are part of a project by artist Thomas Berger. Berger, who hails from Kittery, Maine, was commissioned on behalf of Southern Maine Community College to create a collection of all-weather outdoor art to reflect qualities of the students on campus. The rocky outcrops are titled “Destination,” “Ambition” and “Thought.” “Destination,” the ultimate goal of the student, is illustrated by Berger in quintessential Maine iconography: the hull of a ship, which embodies traits such as movement, destiny and exploration. “Ambition” is portrayed in the form of a window, a much more universal form of symbolism. The window, which expresses the surpassing of a threshold, is lined with cut steps, with more steps resting on the inside of the window itself, their purpose to convey the idea, shockingly enough, of taking steps. The final piece of the installation, “Thought,” almost seems to resemble an exaggerated human figure at first glance. The slender piece expresses the inception of an idea, one that is ready to be released out into the world.

Originally from Germany, Thomas Berger has spent time all over the globe, visiting places such as Niger, France and Australia before immigrating to the United States in the mid 1990s. His commissions have been featured across the entirety of New England, in venues that range from museums to schools to private residences. His work is primarily focused on the theme of the natural world, as Berger claims himself to be a “lifelong naturalist” according to his website, bergerstoneart.com. His site is filled with pictures of stone sculpture of aquatic lifeforms and insects interacting with their environment, in among his other projects.

So despite the elimination of any conspiracy theories some students may have (such as recreating Stonehenge on the Brunswick campus), Berger’s installations are a much-welcome addition to the burgeoning Midcoast Campus. Funding for the project came from Maine’s Percent for Art program, which is a mandate passed in 1979 which requires that one percent of the budget for publicly-funded buildings be set aside for such art projects.

In addition the abstract ideas they symbolize, the installations also represent the latest in a line of improvements slated for the Brunswick campus. These additions are further proof that the Brunswick campus is transitioning from merely a satellite campus to a hub of continuing education that is developing an identity of its own, an identity that is succeeding in drawing more and more students from all different parts of Maine.