Dance of the Cubes

San Francisco General Hospital
Potrero Hill

Dance of the Cubes is by Jacques Schnier.  It is made of plastic and fiberglass and was done in 1975.

Jacques Schnier taught at Berkeley for 30 years. First appointed as a Lecturer in the Department of Architecture, he retired as Professor of Art, Emeritus, in 1966.  Jacques was a prolific sculptor whose work was widely exhibited and given critical recognition throughout his career. Major University recognition of Jacques’ achievements came in the form of appointment to the Institute of Creative Arts in 1963 and the awarding of the Berkeley Citation in 1970.

Born in Romania, Jacques came to the United States with his family in 1903 and grew up in San Francisco. His formal education included an A.B. degree in engineering from Stanford in 1920 and an M.A. degree in Sociology from Berkeley in 1939.

An interest in city planning led to his abandoning a successful career in engineering and enrolling in the Department of Architecture at Berkeley. This in turn gave him his first experience in art, since architecture students were required to take art courses. Architectural interests were rapidly supplanted by his fascination with sculpture, and he dropped out of school to devote full attention to it.

Following his retirement in 1966, Jacques’ creative energy seemed to double and his work underwent a change. Having previously favored such materials as stone, wood, bronze, marble and copper, he now focused on the medium of carved and polished clear acrylic resin (Plexiglas).  His concentrated effort in this difficult material led him to say in 1975 that “at last I’ve found my medium” and “it’s as though I’m sculpturing pure light. At 76, I’m hitting my stride.”

Jacques Schnier died March 24, 1988, at the age of 89.

Dance of the cubes is on the dining room balcony at San Francisco General Hospital.  It is owned by the San Francisco Arts Commission.