Brown University’s newest public art installation, Intertwine, officially opened Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, at The Warren Alpert Medical School. The mural by artist Larry Kirkland was commissioned by the Public Art Committee in collaboration with the Alpert Medical School through Brown’s percent-for-art program, which designates a percentage of construction budgets for public art displays. Kirkland’s 26-foot-wide mural is made of luxuriant materials: etched granite, 24-carat gold leaf, cast bronze, and Carrara marble. A collage of images within the mural relates to the humanitarian and scientific aspects of medicine. At either end of the mural, figures represent the individuality of patients. A maze in the center symbolizes the complexities of life and medicine, while molecules and EKG read-outs stream across the work. Bronze blocks spell out words suggested by students and faculty of the Alpert Medical School: “empathy,” “diligence,” “discovery,” among others. Two carved Carrara marble chairs complete the work. Placed in front of the mural, facing each other, the chairs focus on the importance of an open and equal relationship between doctor and patient. Kirkland has worked in the realm of public art for more than 30 years and has created sculpture for public spaces in the United States and abroad., at 5:30 p.m.