The Lander University Public Sculpture Exhibition seeks to create opportunities for the display of student created public sculptures on campus. Increasing the visibility of student art on campus enlivens and energizes our public spaces, creating a more welcoming environment for all. Public sculpture projects are completed by advanced sculpture students as career-oriented experiences that prepare our students to be working artists who positively contribute to their communities.
This is a painted steel sculpture located near Williamston. The artist chose to use a geometric approach to rendering a favorite animal. She broke the form down into flat geometric shapes arranged to create a convincing image of a fox.
Artist Statement: Inspired by my love for foxes, this sculpture is an attempt to portray the natural beauty in the gestural movement of foxes. This is shown throughout the composition, with the posture of the fox seeming as if it could take its next step in any given moment. It is meant to seem as if the fox was mid-step and frozen in time.
This sculpture won 3rd place in the 2022 Public Sculpture Awards.
This sculpture is made of a steel armature covered by a concrete skin. The artist wanted to convey the idea of a human form diving headfirst into something. The image is set halfway into the action so that only the legs remain visible.
Artist Statement: Conceptually, the legs represent the viewer. The pad that the legs are disappearing into represents fears, the unknown, anxiety, etc. I've learned as I have grown older, that life is short and it’s a waste to let your fears or anxiety get in the way of you living your life. Sometimes you must jump in headfirst. You might not know what’s on the other side, but you need to commit. The process of this sculpture involved me creating a mold of my legs with plastic wrap and duct tape. I made a steel armature of the legs that connected to the bar to connect it to the concrete. The armature went into the legs and got surrounded by expanding foam. The upper thigh and the waist were filled with concrete to make it bottom heavy to balance. Once everything was settled, I covered the legs in a layer of chicken wire then a layer of hardware cloth on top. After they were all on, I began with the concrete. It took about three or four layers to complete then it had to be sanded. After transporting it and installing it, some cracks and chips happened and needed to be repaired on site after being installed.
This sculpture was designed to draw the viewer’s eye upward to the sky and the clouds. Made of a steel armature and covered by a translucent fabric, the sculpture invites the viewer to look up to the sky and consider the beauty of nature.
Artist Statement: Since quarantine ended, I have found myself looking for more. A different way to connect to the world. The beauty of the natural world changes our perspective. These whirlwinds draw the viewer out of the mundane, away from routine life, allowing one to directly connect with nature.
This sculpture won 2nd Place in the 2022 Public Sculpture Awards.
This sculpture portrays the similarities and differences between two entities within a confinement. These different vertical forms are engaged in a cyclical relationship that continues on.
Artist Statement: A cycle is a series of events that are regularly repeated in the same order. An endless cycle is a trap. Relationships can sometimes follow a cycle similarly. They are not always happy or good cycles. In the case of Ciclo sin Fin, the representation of a secret relationship that I experienced in the last year is finally being presented to the public. I decided to name it Ciclo sin Fin because throughout the time that I was involved with this individual, I felt trapped, and it felt never ending on various occasions. There are two colors representing two individuals, one of them being myself. They are also cut in particular shapes that contrast each other. The yellow ribbons are cut to end in a soft round form, while the blue ribbons are cut sharper and straight. The process that I took into bending these ribbons was also a separating factor between the two ribbons. All the curves that I created on the blue ribbons were done by hitting them aggressively with a hammer. The curves that I created on the yellow ribbons were all done with my own force as they were held onto the vice, a calm alternative than how I created the bending on the blue ribbons. This internally was to relieve some aggression after the end of this relationship. I decided to encage these two individuals (ribbons) to represent the never-ending cycle that they created. At times both made attempts to escape the cycle, but somehow, they were led back to each other to continue the endless cycle.
This sculpture won 1st Place in the 2022 Public Sculpture Awards.
Made entirely of steel, this hollow form structure takes on the large form of a video game character. Bringing the fictional character into our everyday lives allows viewers to experience a bit of fun on their walk to classes.
Artist Statement: I like to create art that allows people to see beyond the lens of reality through a series of what-ifs. So, what if large dendro slimes were real? The dendro slime is a common enemy in the game Genshin Impact. By bringing it into reality, people will get the chance to step into the characters' shoes and get an idea of the actual size of the slime.
This interactive sculpture consists of hundreds of handmade ceramic rocks. The sculptural installation in Jackson Library shows the rocks placed in a radial pattern on a circle of artificial grass. Instructions placed with the installation as well as around campus ask viewers to participate in campus-wide hunt for colorful rocks hidden all over campus.
Artist Statement: Being out in the sun can be so beneficial to your health, it is a great source of vitamin D, reduces blood pressure and helps you sleep better. Not only does sunlight help you physically, but it also makes you release serotonin which makes you feel calm and focused. In moderation the sun is a fantastic thing for you, physically and mentally. My work From Dusk to Dawn is an incentive for people to go out and enjoy the outdoors. By making this interactive work that is like a scavenger hunt it will also give people a positive experience in nature so they may be more likely to go back. This work is made of small rocks that are imprinted with the sun that spread mixing in color from a large sun rock. There are over 700 small rocks, 100 of them spread around the area surrounding the work that can be kept by whoever finds them.
This artist chose to create a functional sculpture that would be a working street light. Based on the Chinese Lantern plant, this sculpture features a steel armature and an experimental skin covering of synthetic adhesives and paint. The "bloom" is created out of translucent plastic around solar powered lights.
Artist Statement: I have an appreciation for the natural world, so in the early stages of my creative process, I knew I wanted to design a piece that is very organic. I landed on the idea of making a giant flower that could double as a street lamp. The bloom of the flower was loosely based off of the Chinese lantern plant, which is a play on the intended future function/purpose of the sculpture as a light. Most flowers are small traditionally, but I have chosen to make mine large because we often overlook the smaller things in our lives. I wanted this flower to exist on a larger scale in order to command the viewer's attention. Something else I aimed to do when creating this work was to echo how plants function in nature with my own sculpture's function. My flower doubles as a street light at night. I accomplished this by placing a solar panel in the top of the sculpture at the receptacle of the flower and hiding string lights within. Just as real flowers use sunlight to function during photosynthesis, my work uses the sun to power its own function. To create this piece, I started with a steel armature then used hardware cloth to build up the form. After that I had a more organic form, however there were still some sharp angles I wanted to soften. I then covered the piece in multiple layers of duct tape then many coats of heavy duty outdoor liquid nail to give it the natural look I was after. To create the petals I used spray adhesive and a heat gun to layer on cellophane and a protective layer of velum onto a steel frame. I attached the solar panel and wiring within the sculpture and tied the lights so they hang from the center of the bloom, mimicking the stamen of a real flower. My hope is to inspire a sense of wonder for the enchantment of the natural world. I want my work to inspire others to take a closer look at the world around them so they don't miss all the beauty that it has, big and small.
Two teams of sculptors had 12 hours to design, create and install public sculptures on campus. Team Ducks consisted of Victor Santos, a 3D BFA Senior and MG Morrow, a Visual Art freshman. They worked together against great odds to complete this sculpture of two dancers embracing.
Two teams of sculptors had 12 hours to design, create and install publics sculptures on campus. Team Leave It On The Horse consisted of 5 very competent sculptors. Michael Kline, Georgia Watts, Elizabeth Cooper, Lux Blair, and Abbie Allen worked together to create this spider family using steel, plastic and recycled materials. The judges chose this sculpture as the 2022 Sculpture Deathmatch winner.