Janet Knott

The Great Elephant Migration on Commonwealth Avenue

by Janet Knott

It has been said that elephants and people have some things in common. They make lifelong friendships, have good memories, appreciate communal decision making, and remember landscapes. Currently a herd of them has made its way to the Commonwealth Ave. Mall, between Fairfield and Dartmouth Streets. Become part of the herd and check them out, until September 13th.

Life-size elephant sculptures woven from lantana, an adult and a calf, standing on the grass of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall in front of Back Bay brownstones.
A group of woven elephant sculptures facing the camera under the trees of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, with a calf standing at the center of the herd.
A line of elephant sculptures seen from behind, one of them painted deep red, standing among the pale unpainted members of the herd.
Close view of an elephant sculpture's head, showing the inlaid eye and the fine strands of lantana that make up the ear and brow.
Detail of a curving trunk and the legs of an elephant sculpture, the woven lantana strands running in long parallel lines.
Two visitors on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall standing beside an elephant sculpture's raised trunk, one photographing the other through the curve.