all those shoes!Wichita State University. Sculpture on campus, is it just for decoration? Or art? Or if you live among these expressions of art and talent and pass by these sculptures daily going to and from classes, do you absorb some of the culture and beauty by proximity or osmosis?
- The Ulrich Museum of Art’s Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection boasts 76 works spread across the 330-acre Wichita State University campus, and Public Art Review named this collection among the Top Ten campus sculpture collections in 2006.
Millipede Tom Otterness (American, born 1952)
2008 - bronze, 60 x 48 x 300 in.
Always playful and engaging, Otterness's sculptures are also rich with content. With them, he poses questions about how we relate to one another and the world around us. In his proposal to create this giant, friendly bug for the campus, Otterness explained: "I find the Millipede a great work for the site within the context of the University. A millipede's body is composed of linked segments working together and heading in one direction."
Inverted Q Trial Proof (White)Claes Oldenburg (American,
born Sweden, 1929)
1988 - cast resin and white urethane paint
72 x 70 x 63 in.
The work began with his 1970 drawings Alphabet Good Humor Bar, in which inflated, cartoon-like letters were shaped into a partially-eaten ice cream bar. Inevitably, the drawings were translated into a monumental sculpture for both the city of Lansing, Michigan, and the home of writer Michael Crichton. When Oldenburg began to explore the possibilities of the letter Q, he realized "an inverted position seemed necessary because a Q with its tail buried wouldn't be a Q at all."
Grandfather’s Horse John Kearney (American, born 1924)
1973 - stainless steel and chrome, 114 x 101 x 52 1/2 in.
made out of car bumpers, like the one in downtown Wichita
Grandfather's Horse, 1973, is characteristic of Kearney's animal forms. Grandfather's Horse was inspired literally by his grandfather's horse and stands as a tribute to his grandfather, one of the founders of Coffeyville, Kansas.
Love (Blue/Green),Robert Indiana (American, born 1928)
1980 - aluminum and polymer resin
72 x 72 x 36 in.
The LOVE icon has become one of the most recognizable images in popular culture. Appearing on t-shirts, posters, and even the three-cent stamp in the early 1970s, the icon has appealed to Americans' nostalgic reminiscences of the late 1960s. Indiana never copyrighted the image, so he saw little gain from its reproduction. Nevertheless, it remains one of the defining images of his career, and the work for which he is popularly known.
