In the 19th century, most Americans left school after the fourth grade. The founder of the Chautauqua Literary and Science Circle knew that many of those Americans wanted to learn more. Most could not afford college, so he developed a course of reading that would challenge them to think broadly.
Upon graduation, each CLSC class commissioned a banner to carry in an annual parade, and a mosaic to be installed at the Hall of Philosophy, an outdoor lecture theater. Each mosaic has the year and the theme of the class, like the one above.
Eventually they ran out of space for the mosaics, but there are over fifty of them. Here are a few. They are mostly done in stone. You can see how the motifs have an outline of one row of the background color. That’s a classical technique that emphasizes the motif and separates it from the background.
I’m back from the Highlights Foundation Writers Conference, but the people, the learning, and the strange and wonderful Chautauqua Institute will stay with me for a long time.