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Category: Sculpture

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Changing of Seasons by Jesús Nava

Changing of Seasons by Jesús Nava

TITLE: Changing of the Seasons
ARTIST: Jesús Nava
DATE: 2018
MATERIALS: aluminum
DIMENSIONS: 5′ x 5′ (leaf)
TYPE: sculpture

Changing of Seasons (2018) is a collection of 11 aluminum-sheet maple leaves installed at various heights and angles in the new James J. Fritts, DDS Clinical Care Center at the Indiana University School of Dentistry. “I’m trying to bring nature inside the building,” Herron School of Art + Design alumnus Jesús Nava said of this work; “everyone can relate to nature in a way.”

After photographing an idyllic maple leaf, Nava manipulated the image in Photoshop, projected the design onto an aluminum sheet, cut each out with a handsaw, fabricated texture using sandpaper, and then curved them to produce a sense of dynamism.

Changing of Seasons was first installed at IUPUI’s University Library. “When I saw them, I said, ‘I have the perfect place for those’ “ recounted John Hoffman, Assistant Dean of Development for IU’s School of Dentistry, who brought the work to the Dr. Lloyd and Jan Hagedorn Main Street common space, “I knew the silver scheme would match the tones in here. It’s a great enhancement for the area and the building.”

It was also an important enhancement for the career of the artist. “Before John Hoffman reached out, I was taking a break from school and planning on not returning,” Nava revealed. “I didn’t think my work was strong enough, and I didn’t think people appreciated it. He got me to come back to school and finish my career here.”

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Zephyr by Steve Wooldridge

Zephyr by Steve Wooldridge

TITLE: Zephyr
ARTIST: Steve Wooldridge
DATE: 1998
MATERIALS: stainless steel
DIMENSIONS: 13′ x 2′ x 10′
TYPE: sculpture

Zephyr (1998) is composed of seven shapes, each signaling a different meaning. According to artist Steven Woolridge, the rectangular base represents the core of education; the side-by-side cylinders refer to the wheels of progress; the triangle symbolizes a mode of transportation designed for speed; the small cylinder that supports the hoop signifies fortitude and determination; the hoop itself stands for the circle of life; the long pole represents ambition; and the hollow scroll stands for knowledge.

What do you reckon it all adds up to? What story might Woolridge be trying to tell? And why did he choose to dedicate the piece to today’s youth?

In Greek mythology, Zephyrus was the personification of the west wind, the bringer of light spring and early summer breezes. The Greeks are central to our imagination of progress. The wind is a force. It can be refreshing but also disruptive. It can be chaotic, but it can also be harnessed.

In Iroquois tradition, by contrast, the west wind is brought by the Panther, ugly and fierce.

How might the Iroquois understanding help us think about the nature of progress in light of certain ambitions? Are there new winds that can help us achieve the balance this sculpture demonstrates? What kind of knowledge and ambitions would we necessary to harness them?

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zephyr_(Wooldridge), which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”


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Wood Fountain by Singh Associates

Wood Fountain by Singh Associates

TITLE: Wood Fountain
ARTIST: Singh Associates
DATE: 1995
MATERIALS: stone
DIMENSIONS: 100′ x 100′
TYPE: sculpture

IUPUI commissioned Wood Fountain (1995) to complement the architectural logic of the University Library. Situated along the same axis of the library, the pyramidal qualities of the luminescent library dome is brought down to earth by the fountain where it is reproduced in the triangular patterns essential to its composition.

The rush of the water passing down through the grooves creates a meditative space similar to that of the library, offering students and staff a welcome break from their demanding work.

Designed by Singh Associates in New York City, the fountain is named in honor of former Eli Lilly Chief Executive Robert D. Wood and his wife Billie Lou Wood.

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_Fountain, which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Wind Leaves by Bart Kister

Wind Leaves by Bart Kister

TITLE: Wind Leaves
ARTIST: Bart Kister
DATE: 1979
MATERIALS: bronze
DIMENSIONS: 4.5′ x 6″
TYPE: sculpture

Bart Kister’s Wind Leaves (1979) is a public sculpture dedicated to the memory of Dan McCracken, who worked at Riley Hospital for Children. Reminiscent of a weathervane, the sculpted leaves revolve in the wind creating the kind of movement and repetition that invites reverie. One leaf is oak, another is tulip. How do you feel when watching leaves blown by the wind? Why is it that repetition in movement or sound offers a heightened capacity for remembering?

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Weather Tower by Jerald Jacquard

TITLE: Weather Tower
ARTIST: Jerald Jacquard
DATE: 1985
MATERIALS: painted steel
DIMENSIONS: 20′ x 7′ x 6′
TYPE: sculpture


Jerald Jacquard’s deep purple Weather Tower (1985) stands 18 feet tall, offering playful witness to the coming and going of the seasons. How amusing it would be to remain steadfast while the world changed around us, Jacquard may be suggesting.

Weather Tower was acquired by the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 1999, where it stood at the front entrance until it moved to IUPUI’s campus in 2005.

Born in Lansing, Michigan in 1937, Jacquard established a sculpture department at the University of Illinois, Chicago and later was a professor of art at Indiana University for more than 25 years. He has been awarded several major awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_Tower, which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Untitled (L’s) by David Von Schlegell

Untitled (L's) by David Von Schlegell

TITLE: Untitled (L’s)
ARTIST: David Von Schlegell
DATE: ca. 1978
MATERIALS: Brushed Stainless Steel
DIMENSIONS: 55′ x 45′ x 12″
TYPE: sculpture


Untitled (L’s) (1978), by American abstract artist David Von Schlegell, uses line and perspective to reorient our relationship to space as a dimension.

Meant to act as a representation of the Pythagorean Theorem, this trio of 45-feet long by 55-feet tall figures are arranged so that each foot of the vertical bars together form the points of a right triangle.

If you are not a mathematician, have no fear: the L’s encourage interaction. Have a seat and enjoy the view!

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Untitled_(L%27s), which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Untitled (Jazz Musicians) by John Spaulding

Untitled (Jazz Musicians) by John Spaulding

TITLE: Untitled (Jazz Musicians)
ARTIST: John Spaulding
DATE: 1995
MATERIALS: bronze
DIMENSIONS: 8.5′ x 19′ x 19′
TYPE: sculpture

Untitled (Jazz Musicians) (1995) is one of two sculptures found at IUPUI by native Indy artist John Spaulding (1942-2004). A tribute to the legendary heritage of jazz and performance along Indiana Avenue, each of the five figures represents an actual Indianapolis jazz musician: the guitarist is Spaulding’s father; the saxophonist is his brother, noted musician James Spaulding; the bassist is Larry Ridley; the trumpeter is Freddie Hubbard; and the drummer is ‘Killer Ray’ Appleton.

In May 2011, the figure representing James Spaulding was broken off at the knees and stolen. The sculpture also suffered several other cuts. A local newspaper reported on June 13, 2011, that police recovered the piece after it was brought to a scrap yard for sale after someone had discovered it in a trash bin.

Vandalism is always a risk for public sculpture, but this particular incident might allow us to think about other forms of vandalism and dispossession that afflicted the jazz musicians of Indiana Avenue, along with their communities, over time, on a more systemic scale.

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Untitled_(Jazz_Musicians), which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Untitled (IUPUI Letters) by Two Twelve

Untitled (IUPUI Letters) by Two Twelve

TITLE: Untitled (IUPUI Letters)
ARTIST: Two Twelve
DATE: 2008
MATERIALS: stainless steel
TYPE: sculpture

Untitled (IUPUI Letters) consists of five 7’5” tall letters which can be apprehended singularly or together to form the acronym of the university. The letter enclosures sit perpendicular to the full cabinets, giving each letter a multidimensional appearance.

Lead designer David Gibson, an architect who specializes in public information design, imagined the sculpture as a public way-finding tool, helping visitors to locate the new Campus Center building. This installation speaks to the power of public art in place-making, rendering the Campus Center identifiable to visitors. New York design firm Two Twelve collaborated with Indianapolis-based ASI Modulex to fabricate and install the sculpture.

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Untitled_(IUPUI_Letters), which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Untitled (Faces) by Ellerbe Associates

Untitled (Faces) by Ellerbe Associates

TITLE: Untitled (Faces)
ARTIST: Ellerbe Associates
DATE: 1986
MATERIALS: wood, metal, stone
DIMENSIONS: 11′ x 2.5′ x 1′
TYPE: sculpture


Untitled (Faces) consists of an archway with lion faces, a low wall with alternating cherubs and lions, and a tree stump with a face, a sun, and a moon. Livening up the plaza, the work opens up the possibility for creative interaction with the building and leisurely play. How many faces can you count? In moments of stress and insecurity, sometimes the greatest gift art can give us is a brief respite—a welcome escape into a world of imagination and fantasy.

The plaza, designed as a place for patients and visitors to relax and eat, was created by Ellerbe Associates of Bloomington, Minnesota as part of the $56 million expansion on Riley Hospital for Children in 1986. The wall of the plaza was a part of this expansion, with Ellerbe incorporating red brick into the design to commemorate Riley Hospital for Children’s first building.

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Untitled (Chimney) by Ellerbe Associates

Untitled (Chimney) by Ellerbe Associates

TITLE: Untitled (Chimney)
ARTIST: Ellerbe Associates
DATE: 1986
MATERIALS: brick, concrete, stone
DIMENSIONS: 25′ x 11′
TYPE: sculpture


Untitled (Chimney) (1986), by Minnesota design firm Ellerbe Associates, introduces a key element of the home—with all its connotations of warmth and security provided by the hearth—into the sometimes cold and insecure setting of a hospital. The four limestone arches and corresponding columns support the red brick column that widens as it rises to some 25 feet. As a pavilion, it invites us to occupy space inside the hearth.

Untitled (Chimney) was part of a Riley Hospital for Children construction project completed in 1987 intended to create nourishing and supportive spaces for families.

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimney_(sculpture),  which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Unknown (Tall Metal) by Carey Chapman

TITLE: Untitled (Tall Metal)
ARTIST: Cary Chapman
DATE: 2001
MATERIALS: steel
DIMENSIONS: 16′ x 4’8″ x 3′
TYPE: sculpture


Untitled stands sixteen feet tall on a series of geometric shapes. Constructed of steel, it was originally black, and has been weathered red by time. Untitled was created in 2001 by Cary Chapman, then a senior sculpture student at the Herron School of Art and Design, for an exhibition coordinated by the IUPUI Campus Art Committee. The choice not to name a work of art is an invitation for the reader to encounter it more fully on their own terms. After a deep engagement with the piece, is there a name you would imagine giving it?

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Untitled_(Cary_Chapman),  which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Unitled (Indiana Limestone) by Adolfo Doddoli

Unitled (Indiana Limestone) by Adolfo Doddoli

TITLE: Unitled (Indiana Limestone)
ARTIST: Adolfo Doddoli
DATE: 1976
MATERIALS: Limestone
DIMENSIONS: Sculpture: approx. 2′ x 3′ x 1’4″; Base: approx. 2′ x 3′ x 1′
TYPE: sculpture


Indiana Limestone (1976) was carved from a single piece of limestone obtained from the Wooley Stone Company in Bloomington. What does it look like to you? A wave? A sand dune? Maybe a clam? Whatever comes to mind probably refers to the fluid, organic qualities of the piece—an impressive achievement when working with a medium as heavy and dense as stone.

Italian artist Adolfo Doddoli first came to the United States on scholarship at Colorado College. In 1969, he accepted a position at the Herron School of Art, where he taught and practiced for 30 years.

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Limestone_(sculpture), which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Torso Fragment by Casey Eskridge

Torso Fragment by Casey Eskridge

TITLE: Torso Fragment
ARTIST: Casey Eskridge
DATE: 2005
MATERIALS: Aluminum
DIMENSIONS: 3′ 2″ x 1′ 8″ x 1′ 6″
TYPE: sculpture


Torso Fragment (2005) is a contemporary take on the contrapposto form, an asymmetrical representation of the human figure that results when weight rests primarily on one leg.

Try it yourself. Put most of your weight on your right leg and notice how it shifts your shoulders and hips. Now, try it with your left leg. Artists often use contrapposto to capture dynamism and nuance in the human form.

While contrapposto can be found in art around the world, it became central to the European sculptural and pictorial repertoire during the Renaissance-perhaps most famously embodied in Michelango’s David (1504). This is the tradition from which Herron alum Casey Eskridge draws.

Eskridge’s figure evokes the fragments of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture that so inspired Renaissance artists. But, looking to the contemporary world, he casts his torso in aluminum—that material so essential to modernity—the fabric of airplanes, automobiles, skyscrapers, and computers

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torso_Fragment,  which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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The South Tower by Don Gummer

The South Tower by Don Gummer

TITLE: The South Tower
ARTIST: Don Gummer
DATE: 1998
MATERIALS: Stainless Steel
DIMENSIONS: 10′ x 2′ x 3′
TYPE: sculpture

On his way to his New York studio one autumn morning in 2001, Indiana-raised Don Gummer saw the South Tower of the World Trade Center fall during the 9/11 terror attacks. “It’s seared into my memory,” he said.

The South Tower (2008), Gummer’s 10 foot tall aluminum sculpture memorializing that moment, is an example of how art can be used to work through a trauma that is both personal and public. The leaning, quivering S-shape of the stainless steel that emerges from vertically-louvered design confers a sense of the inevitable in a moment that many of us never imagined was possible.

Gummer has won awards from the American Academy in Rome, the National Endowment of the Arts, and the Tiffany Foundation. His works are generally large in scale, complex, and benefit from sustained experience over time. Together with his wife, the great actor Meryl Streep, Gummer is also an activist philanthropist. His sculpture, Open Eyes (2011), is also installed on campus.

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_South_Tower_(sculpture), which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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The Herron Arch 1 by James Wille Faust

The Herron Arch 1 by James Wille Faust

TITLE: The Herron Arch 1
ARTIST: James Wille Faust
DATE: 2005
MATERIALS: painted aluminum
DIMENSIONS: 20′ x 7′ x 7′
TYPE: sculpture

The Herron Arch 1 (2005) was the first large-scale sculpture created by James Wille Faust, renowned alumnus of the Herron School of Art and Design.

Composed of over thirty geometrically-shaped pieces of painted aluminum, the work sits at the intersection of sculpture and painting. “Unconcerned about what classification my work fits into, I am free to explore with no limitations and in any direction, style or medium,” states Faust, whose airbrush work has received acclaim.

A lovely conceit of this piece comes from moving around it. From its front or back, it appears black and white. But, as you move around it, you are greeted with a lovely array of prime colors—a reminder that things can surprise you if you give them time and approach them from different angles.

Designed and painted by Faust, the 20 foot tall arch was fabricated by Indianapolis-based Tarpening-Lafollette Company.

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Herron_Arch_1, which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Temple VI by Austin Collins

Temple VI by Austin Collins

TITLE: Temple VI
ARTIST: Austin Collins
DATE: 1996
MATERIALS: Steel
DIMENSIONS: 10′ 4″ x 3′ 8″ x 2′ 6″
TYPE: sculpture

Close your eyes and imagine a temple. Got it? Now open your eyes and have a look at Austin Collins’ Temple VI (1996).

Is it any different than what you saw in your mind’s eye? How?

Do you think this sculpture is a temple? Why or why not?

Collins, a Holy Cross priest and a professor of sculpture at the University of Notre Dame, described this series as follows: “In my recent work, The Temple Series, I hope to invoke in the viewer a sense of sacred space, of retreating, of reflection. By constructing a space with abstract geometric steel forms, referencing architecture, games, and toys, Temple VII generates a bodily response from both structure and composition.”

How do you feel in the space that this temple provides?

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_VI, which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Talking Wall by Bernard Williams

Talking Wall by Bernard Williams

TITLE: Talking Wall, 2015
ARTIST: Bernard Williams
DATE: 2015
MATERIALS: steel, paint
DIMENSIONS: 144 x 244 x 79 inches
TYPE: sculpture


The phrase, “if walls could talk,” often refers to secrets to be told. In the case of Bernard Williams’ Talking Wall (2015), this idiom is inverted. The wall is telling us a story of Indianapolis’ past.

Stand before the work and you stand—literally and figuratively—within the outlines of Indianapolis’ great African-American history. The patterns you see are derived from African decorative carving and textiles, as well as from African-American quilt making. Nationally recognized figures such as entrepreneur and activist, Madame C.J. Walker (1867-1919); track and cycling champion, Marshall “Major” Taylor (1878-1932); jazz guitartist, Wes Montgomery (1923-1968); are all here. Shining over them is the North Star, that great symbol of hope, freedom, and dignity that guided so many away from the terrors of slavery.

The site of the work is itself significant. Once the location of IPS School 4, one of the original ward public schools, it welcomed both black and white students until 1922 when it was designated for African-American children only. In 1953, a new IPS School 4 building—also segregated—was constructed just north of the original and named in honor of Mary Ellen Cable (1862-1944), an African-American woman who was renowned as a School 4 teacher and principal and as a civic leader. Cable founded the Indianapolis branch of the NAACP and served as the first president of both its Indianapolis and Indiana chapters.

In a world where walls do the work of silencing, Talking Wall gives voice to the hidden histories of Indianapolis in the hope that someone like yourself is ready and open to listen.

The Central Indiana Community Foundation and the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick provided the funds for this sculpture. To see more art celebrating Indianapolis’ African American history, check out John Spaulding’s Jammin’ on the Avenue and (Untitled) Jazz Musicians on Indiana Avenue.

To learn more about this artwork, visit http://www.indyartsguide.org/public-art/talking-wall/, which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Table of Contents by Dale Enochs

Table of Contents by Dale Enochs

TITLE: Table of Contents
ARTIST: Dale Enochs
DATE: 2008
MATERIALS: limestone
DIMENSIONS: 42′ x 20′ x 50′
TYPE: sculpture


Table of Contents (1999) features an orb, a box, a pyramid, and a crescent cylinder carefully arranged on a hefty table, each fashioned from limestone. In some places there are fissures and lines; in other areas, it is smooth. The word “terrae” has been carved into the stone. “Terrae” refers to a vast highland region of a planet.

In choosing this word, Bloomington-based artist Dale Enochs may be asking us to think about connections between planetary and human scales, and how we mold one into the other. According to what values, laws, desires, and dreams do we fashion the world? Enochs’ provocative public work can be found throughout Indiana. He is based in Bloomington, where he earned his Masters of Fine Arts at Indiana University.

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_Contents_(Enochs), which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Spirit Keeper by Steve Wooldridge

Spirit Keeper by Steve Wooldridge

TITLE: Spirit Keeper
ARTIST: Steve Wooldridge
DATE: 2007
MATERIALS: stainless steel
DIMENSIONS: 6.5′ x 3.2′ x 3.2′
TYPE: sculpture

Abstraction can trigger resemblance. What do you see in Spirit Keeper (2007) by Hoosier artist Steve Wooldridge? A sail? A leaf? An ear? A flower petal? A flame? Or something else?

What you see doesn’t have to remain fixed, of course. As we change over time, so does our perception of things.

Our experiences offer up potential for remembrance and connection, giving us new ways to perceive, engage with, and understand our world so long as we remain open to possibilities.

Wooldridge graduated with a degree in sculpture in 1963, at what was then known as Herron Art Institute. Spirit Keeper was donated to IUPUI in 2007 by Norma Winkler, owner of Indianapolis’ Rock Island Refining Corporation, which produced the stainless steel for this sculpture. If you like this piece, be sure to check out Zephyr (1998), another Wooldridge sculpture on campus.

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_Keeper, which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Spaces with Iron by Will Horwitt

Spaces with Iron by Will Horwitt

TITLE: Spaces with Iron
ARTIST: Will Horwitt
DATE: 1972
MATERIALS: cast iron, bronze
DIMENSIONS: 4’6″ x 7′ x 5’9″
TYPE: sculpture


As children we are alert to shapes, volume, and mass—arranging and rearranging things in an attempt to test the order of things. As we grow up, we tend to lose some of this drive to question the world—falling into routines and patterns, and taking things for granted.

Composed of one cast iron rectangle, one bronze rectangle, a pair of bronze elongated blocks, and one iron plank arranged atop a white circular concrete base, New York City-based artist Will Horwittt’s minimalist sculpture, Spaces With Iron (1972), invites us to consider how balance is achieved through arrangement.

Apparently fixed, there are ways the sculpture becomes dynamic. The track of the sun and the cast of its shadows alters the careful arrangement of lines and the work’s sense of depth. And by moving around the piece, you can play with the negative space, transforming the sculpture with every step. (Note that the main subject of the piece—as indicated in the title—is space, not material.)

On loan from Newfields, Spaces With Iron has been at IUPUI since 2009. Horwitt (1934-1985) was a nationally exhibited modernist sculptor who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. His work was well-reviewed by The New York Times, recognized for its expressive simplicity.

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaces_with_Iron, which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Punctuation Spire by William Crutchfield

Punctuation Spire by William Crutchfield

TITLE: Punctuation Spire
ARTIST: William Crutchfield
DATE: 1981
MATERIALS: Wood, steel, aluminum
DIMENSIONS: 28h x 4w feet, 6 feet diameter, 3000 lbs.
TYPE: sculpture


The towering, playful Punctuation Spire (1981) makes full use of the airy space of the Campus Center atrium. Artist William Richard Crutchfield (1932-2015) originally created the 28-foot sculpture for a shopping center in California. It is one in a series of towers that offer tribute to “the symbols of our modern written language.” (The others feature the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0 through 9, and the word “wish.”)

Like the monolithic obelisks of ancient times, Punctuation Spire demonstrates the power of art in place-making. Donated to the Herron School of Art and Design, it installed in the Campus Center in 2010.

Crutchfield was an internationally exhibited artist and Indianapolis native best known for his painting and printmaking. He received his B.F.A. from Herron in 1956.

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctuation_Spire_(Crutchfield), which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Procession of Ants by David Bowen

Procession of Ants by David Bowen

TITLE: Procession of Ants
ARTIST: David Bowen
DATE: 1999
MATERIALS: steel
DIMENSIONS: 3.5′
TYPE: sculpture

Procession of Ants (1998) is a collection of fifteen ant sculptures arranged in the sunken flower bed on the south side of Taylor Hall. Each is three and a half feet long. How many can you spot in total? Here’s a hint: some are on the wall. Ants have tiny claws and adhesive hairs on their feet that are essentially sticky pads that allow them to climb walls. David Bowen created this piece as a student at the Herron School of Art and Design. His work explores the dynamic between art, biosystems, and technology.

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procession_of_Ants_(sculpture), which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Portrait of History by The Zhou Brothers

Portrait of History by The Zhou Brothers

TITLE: Portrait of History
ARTIST: ShanZuo Zhou and DaHuang Zhou
DATE: 1997
MATERIALS: bronze
DIMENSIONS: 8’4″ x 2′ x 2’6″
TYPE: sculpture


What is this strange figure? Give it some time. What does it look like to you? Does it change shape? Is this a person? A flower bud? A bird? The trunk of a tree perhaps?

Portrait of History (1997) by Chinese-American artists The Zhou Brothers, invites us to reconsider our linear approach to history by confronting us with a narrow bronze figure fixed in a state of becoming. To craft a portrait of history is to acknowledge that there are many ways to see it. To imply that there is more than one history is to suggest that history is not fixed, but continuously reshaped.

From the autonomous Chinese region of GuangXi, ShanZuo (b. 1952) and DaHuang Zhou (b. 1957) have worked out of their Chicago studio since the 1980s. “At the beginning, we knew it was interesting, but we didn’t know how special it was…” says DaHuang. “But more and more as we worked together, we realized the value of the collaboration. People think we have the same idea and bring harmony to it before coming to the canvas. That’s wrong. The value of the collaboration is that it opens up things that couldn’t happen any other way.”

Portrait of History shares its name with a series of four oil-on-paper portraits by the Zhou Brothers which are more traditional and less abstract.

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_History , which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Peirce Geodetic Monument

Peirce Geodetic Monument

TITLE: Peirce Geodetic Monument
DATE: 1987
MATERIALS: black granite, bronze
DIMENSIONS: 3′ x 1.5′
TYPE: sculpture

Have you ever heard of Charles Sanders Peirce (pronounced “purse”)? He was one of the most dynamic American thinkers of all time, making significant contributions to philosophy, logic, math, and science.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, together with the U.S. National Geodetic Survey, donated and installed this sculpture at IUPUI in honor of the university’s Peirce Edition Project, an ongoing effort to publish Peirce’s personal manuscripts. Apart from memorializing Pierce’s contribution to art and science, the monument marks the precise latitude, longitude, and altitude of its location.

In a world full of smart phones linked to satellites, how have our understandings of space and place changed? What does it mean that fewer and fewer scholars follow Pierce’s lead working in both the sciences and the humanities?

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peirce_Geodetic_Monument, which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”

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Orange Curves by Brent Gann

Orange Curves by Brent Gann

TITLE: Orange Curves
ARTIST: Brent Gann
DATE: 2000
MATERIALS: painted steel
DIMENSIONS: 4′ x 4′ x 3′
TYPE: sculpture

Created by Herron School of Art and Design alumnus Brent Gann, Orange Curves (2000) is a four foot tall sculpture consisting of three interlocking steel curves, painted orange. Walk around the sculpture and see how perspective changes your perceptions of it. Is the work abstract or representational? Is it a play on shape or typography? Might the curves be chain links that have been broken? Metal is cast, welded or both to create a sculpture; Orange Curves shows evidence of both. Gann is an American artist who obtained B.F.A.s in both visual communication and sculpture from Herron School of Art and Design in 2000, who has since worked in graphic design.

To learn more about this artwork, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Curves,  which includes information created by Herron School of Art and Design and IUPUI Museum Studies faculty and students in 2009 as part of “A Survey of IUPUI Public Art.”