Holy Family Sculpture by Artist A. Wasil To Be Unveiled Sunday Feb. 12 at Santa Clara University
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 10, 2012 — A bronze sculpture, depicting the Holy Family of Mary, Joseph and Jesus in an unusually informal, private family moment, will be unveiled and dedicated Sunday on the verdant campus of Santa Clara University.
The work, “In Celebration of Family,” will be unveiled during a ceremony on Feb. 12 at 11:30 a.m., outside the Harrington Learning Commons building at SCU.
The work was donated by Dr. Rudi Brutoco and Mrs. Diana Brutoco, and the Brutocao Family Foundation, with special support from Malcolm Cisneros Law Corp. It was the final work of noted international artist A. Wasil before his death in 2008. The project was initiated in 2004. A nearly identical original has been on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana since 2006.
The Brutoco family will be in attendance at Sunday’s event, along with Santa Clara University President Michael E. Engh, S.J.; major benefactors from the University’s Golden Circle; Board of Fellows executive committee members; members of the Board of Trustees; and other University officials.
“This sculpture celebrates the unique and special core element of our society, which is family,” said Dr. Brutoco, a member of SCU’s Board of Regents and a pediatrician specializing in behavioral and developmental medicine in Irvine, Calif. “It is in constant engagement with passersby, and we invite all to experience a moment of reflection with this divine trio, as well as a connection with their own family relationships.
“Like Santa Clara University, our family is deeply devoted to both spirituality and education,” Dr. Brutoco added. “We hope this work inspires the countless mothers, fathers, and children seeking education guided by faith.”
The Brutocos are longtime supporters of SCU. Along with their extended family (with last names of Brutoco, Brutocao, Malcolm, Marquis, Morse, Moreno, SaintMeyer, and Shaikh) they established the Louis and Dorina Brutocao Award for Teaching Excellence and the Brutocao Family Foundation Award for Curriculum Innovation—annual awards honoring faculty who excel in the quality or creativity of their teaching.
“We are very grateful to the Brutoco family for honoring us with this work of religious art,” said Engh. “As a prominent feature on campus, I believe the Holy Family sculpture will serve as a reminder of the value of family life and a source of inspiration for our students and all who view it.”
Dr. Brutoco, who has been on the University’s Board of Regents since 2011, received a B.S. in psychology from SCU in 1977 (after leaving his 1974 class early to attend medical school), and has a master’s in public health from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Health, and a Ph.D. from the UCLA School of Medicine.
Mrs. Brutoco earned her B.S. in sociology from SCU in 1974. As a student she was instrumental in starting the Kids on Campus daycare program, and was a Golden Circle Volunteer. Since graduation, she and her husband have promoted SCU through alumni calling, college nights at local high schools, hosting or speaking at gatherings for prospective students, and other activities.
The late artist A. Wasil is known for his welcoming, larger-than-life bronze pieces, often depicting spiritual themes with multidimensional elements. He created a bronze bust of Christ in 1997 that is now part of a collection in the Vatican. Other works can be seen at Qualcomm Stadium in his adopted hometown of San Diego, at San Diego’s Imperial Beach, at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas, or on the grounds of Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside.
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 8,800 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, theology, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
Media Contact
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121