The fall of 1985 will see the installation of his 16-foot "Omphalos" set on the island between Johnson Gate and the Coop. Omphalos is Greek for "center of the universe," and that's exactly what Hadzi had in mind.
Still in its conceptual stages is the commission that is closer to home. The fall of 1985 will see the installation of his 16-foot "Omphalos" set on the island between Johnson Gate and the Coop in the new Harvard Square. Omphalos is Greek for "center of the universe," and that's exactly what Hadzi had in mind.
"Harvard Square really is the omphalos of the educational world--not only because of Harvard, but Tufts, B.U., and all the others," he says.
The finished form is still a year away, but in his studio a half-size cardboard model made by Hadzi's assistant Romolo Deldeo '82 stands as a preview. Once again, three posts of different colored six-foot tall granite blocks act as a base for stainless steel units on top. With what Hadzi calls a "mysterious, mystical effect," water will come out the top, disappear into the stainless steel, and electrically recycle itself. The water never reaches the ground.
But the Harvard Square project poses a weight problem. With only 20-ton steel beams holding up the ceiling of the subway station beneath it. Omphalos cannot exceed 35 tons. By working back and forth from a half-size model to a hand-held quarter-size one. Hadzi hopes to accommodate the restriction. Eventually he will build a full-size model, perhaps in the Carpenter Center basement. Clearly, a concern for public safety puts constraints on Hadzi's work. But it was reassuring in the late 60s when war protestors climbed to the top of Thermopylae outside Boston City Hall and the sculpture didn't collapse, he says with a laugh.
"Harvard Square is going to be very beautiful, you know. There will be lots of trees, I'm hoping people will walk through the sculpture."
Looking to the future, Hadzi hopes to get back to work on small things, although a friend has just given him a 12-foot elm log.
Small things for Hadzi mean lapidary work (he especially likes jade) and etchings, which he says are good practice for his hands. His etchings are unusually figurative, with images of flowers and anatomy. One thing he loves is to surprise a friend with a prepared etching plate along with a tool to scratch in a design. Later he has the plate bit and printed.
Meanwhile Hadzi is hoping for a sabbatical in 1984-85. He has served as acting director of the Carpenter Center for one year and is currently acting VES department chairman. Should he take time off, Hadzi will have the time to pursue all his new interests, perhaps taking them as far as India or Japan