Fielding Brown, a resident at Fox Hill Village, has been creating sculptures in wood and multimedia since his retirement as Charles L. Macmillan Professor of Physics at Williams College. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Williams College and a doctorate in physics from Princeton University. Brown has spent a lifetime as teacher of undergraduates and as a grant-supported research scientist. Now, he spends his time creating sculptures that reflect the concepts he has long studied.
When asked how an artist thinks like a scientist, Brown says, “Both the artist and the scientist are motived primarily by the desire to create or discover something new. The scientist is driven to reveal undiscovered knowledge of the physical works, what lies beyond present understanding. The artist seeks to bring to life visions of color and space, visions previously unseen.”
Brown’s work has been exhibited extensively in the northeast and New England, but his fellow residents are privileged to enjoy several of his sculptures on display right here at Fox Hill. “Nude Descending a Staircase” — located in our main lobby, near the front door — is a 3-D rendition of Marcel Duchamp’s famous painting that shocked the art world in 1912. “String Theory Made Easy ─ Not Easily” hangs in a hallway window near Dr. Brown’s apartment. The frame is constructed of laminated plywood and aluminum and the strings are Dacron kite string.