As the Quakers take on their Ivy League rivals this basketball season, fans who approach The Palestra at Penn can view “Atmosphere and Environment XII” by Louise Nevelson, an artist known for her wall-like sculptures incorporating a myriad of abstract forms. An immigrant to the United States from present-day Ukraine, Nevelson was one of the most influential artists in the years after World War II, and one of the few women of her time to create outdoor sculptures. One of a series, the towering sculpture on Shoemaker Green consists of 30 open, rectangular cubes made of weathering steel, each weighing 500 pounds, stacked and bolted together. The six columns of five cubes are 18 feet high and 10 feet wide. Within each cube are additional geometric shapes that create interesting shadows as the sun hits the steel.