In 2002, metalsmith Tamar Etingen was chosen by the Maine Arts Commission to design, fabricate and install decorative metal capitals on five anodized aluminum columns in the new building of the Maranacook Middle School. Columns 1, 2, and 3 are in the Cafeteria. Column 4 is on the first floor directly outside the Cafeteria and to the right of the first floor entrance. Column 5 is on the second floor in the hallway leading to classrooms and offices. Ms. Etingen proposed a design using a mix of geometric and organic shapes in a lively abstract composition. A design vocabulary of shared forms was employed, giving each column a design which is unique but also related to the other columns. The unique design of each column is intended to give identity to each site. In the Cafeteria where there are three columns in one location, the interplay of the three designs and their relationship to each other generates an entertaining visual environment as people move through the room. 

Insatallation assistants: Heidi Spadter and Lauren Goodine