OUTDOOR SCULPTURE (August 1989}

OUTDOOR SCULPTURE (August 1989)

by Joan K. Yanni

Just outside the main doors, a pair of sculptures by Scottsville artist Nancy Jurs flanks the entrance. Called Emergence (96.9.1, 2), the sculptures are made of clay, and are hollow.

Emergence

In the circle in front of the Gallery is the kinetic sculpture by George Rickey, Two Lines Up Excentric—Twelve Feet (94.44). Always “awesome,” it moves with the wind—and the blades never touch!

Two Lines Up Excentric--Twelve Feed

On the grounds at Goodman and toward Prince Street (east to west), the first sculpture we meet is Go (75.19) by Duayne Hatchett.  It is made of aluminum plate and plexiglass. (Look for the plexiglass—it's there! It looks yellow-green from the front, clear in back.)  Go is next to the walkway between the parking lot and the front of Cutler Union.  Does it look like a sail?  A boat?  Does it move?

Go

Just west of the front entrance to Cutler is Meridian (69.35), by Ettore Colla.  Constructivist Colla has created an intersected circle resting on a small circle—all made of iron.

Meridian

Near University, next to the sidewalk leading to Cutler is Ell II (77.89) by Larry Mohr; medium:  aluminum beams.  And on the lawn at University near the main entrance drive is Beverly Pepper's shining Vertical Ventaglio (78.195), constructed of stainless and carbon steel and painted with black automotive paint. Is it a fan?  Falling boxes?  You can see your image in it as well as the reflection of traffic and the lovely Victorian houses across University Avenue.

Ventaglio

(70.57) by Tony Smith—medium: painted mild steel.  Kids used to love to climb on it, but insurance concerns now forbid it.

Playgroun

Just west of University Avenue entrance drive is Converging Cubes (68.3), by William F. Sellers; medium:  painted Corten steel.  The sculpture is ever-changing as you walk around it.

Converging Cubes

Mountain Piece

In the court area in the alcove to the right of the front steps of the 1913 building—and visible through the windows in the Gill Education Center—are the cast bronze Mountain Piece (75.114), by Hilda Morris, and Six Cubes (67.21), another piece by William F. Sellers—this one of stainless steel. If you look carefully, the Morris piece becomes three folk dancers...or merely mountain peaks?  The most recent addition to that space is (or are?) Penguins (89.56.1-3) by Blanca Will. The charming sculptures were completed in and the Wills’ family had them cast in 1989.

Six Cubes

Penguins

Suggestions for looking at these sculptures on a tour:  (Adapted from a 1986 outline by former curator/educator Penny Knowles)

Movement

Are any of these pieces kinetic (incorporate actual movement) or is the movement implied?  What kind of movement do they suggest?  Why?

Texture

How many different textures do you see?  Are some of them opposites?  (rough-smooth, matte-shiny, etc.)

Size

Is the size of the piece important?  Is it measured with the eye, the body, or its surroundings?

Color

Does its color change with the light?  Does color enhance its effect?  Is it harmonious with the surroundings or contrasting?

Mass and Volume

Sculpture has height, width and depth.  It also has mass and volume, and can be referred to as having positive and negative space.

Which works have more mass, which more volume?  What happens if you walk around them or look through them?  If you took Bill Sellers' Converging Cubes and flattened it out, what would it look like?

Placement

Why do you think the pieces were placed where they are?  Where else might they be?  How do they add to the Museum grounds?

Content

What would you name any single sculpture?