The Sean Collier Memorial at MIT is a beautiful and poignant tribute to a fallen hero. Located at 32 Vassar Street on the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the memorial was erected in honor of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier, who was killed in the line of duty in April 2013.
On a cold, clear night last week, I made my way to the memorial, drawn by a desire to discover the suspended stone, constructed without mortar, and to capture its beauty in photographs. As I approached the site, I was struck by the elegant design of the memorial, which was created by the artist Pablo Eduardo.
The memorial consists of a stone sculpture of a tree surrounded by a semicircular stone bench. The tree represents the life of Sean Collier and the growth that occurred during his time at MIT, while the bench serves as a place for people to sit and reflect on his life and legacy. But it was the stone itself that caught my attention, as it defies gravity, suspending the center pieces in a complete circle that I could walk under.
Pablo Eduardo is a sculptor and artist who has created many notable public works, including the Sean Collier Memorial at MIT. Eduardo was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and he immigrated to the United States as a young man. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and he has since gone on to have a successful career as an artist and sculptor.
In addition to the Sean Collier Memorial, Eduardo has created many other public works of art, including a series of bronze sculptures for the Boston Public Library, a bronze bust of Martin Luther King Jr. for the MLK Memorial Foundation, and a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust for the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston.
Despite the chill in the air, I rushed out these four beautiful photographs that captured the monument if you don’t have a chance to visit in person. Enjoy!