Dr Barton Rubenstein

Dr. Barton Rubenstein is the author of numerous scientific articles, including in Science and Optical Society of America. As a public artist, with a focus on water and wind kinetic sculpture, he has over 100 commissions worldwide, spanning a career of nearly 30 years. His portfolio includes the biennially presented Portrait of a Nation Award for the Smithsonian Institution, a 12” high sculpture created by Rubenstein awarded to Americans who have made a substantial contribution to our nation, including past recipients Aretha Franklin, Maya Lin, Hank Aaron, Earth Wind and Fire, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Spike Lee, Serena and Venus Williams, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and Madeleine Albright. Rubenstein creates large-scale water and wind kinetic sculptures for public and private spaces including universities, cities and residences, including the official residence of the Vice President of the United States. Rubenstein’s tallest piece is a 30’ high sculpture, “Skybound,” in front of the Cincinnati Art Museum. In 2005-2007, Rubenstein was invited to be a member of a National Academy of Sciences Committee to redesign the $100 bill. His recommendation to include a blue ribbon to avert counterfeiting was subsequently introduced into the new design at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. In 2015, Rubenstein’s family cofounded the Mother Earth Project.

As an environmental activist and cofounder of the Mother Earth Project, he has used his art and that of others to activate sustainable communities in over 80 countries, both raising awareness and demanding better climate laws. The physical footprint of his family’s project is the Mother Earth Sculpture, a monumental 15’ high sculpture that Rubenstein designed with the likeness of the human profile, namely his mother, the subject and inspiration of this memoir. It is now in countries worldwide, including Washington, DC, Jerusalem, Israel, Guilin, China, Jaipur, India, Yaoundé, Cameroon, and Bonn, Germany. These sculptures are intentionally located at sites where sustainability events and climate strikes take place. The Mother Earth Project has a following of over a hundred thousand worldwide, including partnerships with youth climate activists of Greta Thunberg’s Friday For Future movement, the Girl Scouts of America, and the Citizens Climate International, and the United Nations Environment Programme.

Rubenstein has received numerous awards, including the Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater Sidwell Friends School, Washington, DC and the Creativity Award from Moment Magazine.