UIndy Arts UIndy Web

2008-2009 Fifth Third Bank Campus Sculpture Walk

If you would like to print the following information to take with you, download the Art Sculpture Walk PDF (2 pages | 505 kb).

A variety of art work decorates the UIndy campus through the campus sculpture walk. Sponsored by Fifth Third Bank, the free outdoor art exhibition features work by artists from around the country. Sculptures range widely in size, style and subject and most were chosen for inclusion through the Fifth Third Bank Campus Sculpture Walk Competition. Twenty-one sculptures are included in the exhibition, which is currently on display and runs through August 31, 2008.

Jacob's Ladder - Bernie Carreño (1) Dot to Dot - Shawn Phillip Morin (2) Wave Form Two - Gary Gresko (3) Temple XVIII - Austin Collins (4) Flowers and Wallpaper - Catherine Schlebecker (5) Totem - Dee Schaad (6) Adam and Eve - Lee Benson (7) Sunstruck - Nicole Beck (8) Numinous Wedge - Jay Dougan (9) Universal Continuum - Beverly Precious (10)

Anatomy Vessel - Eric Nordgulen (11) Raln - Kevin Lyles (12) Strength - Jake Webster (13) Caterpillar - Brian Ferriby (14) Modular Tower - Barry Barnes (15) Freedom’s Folly - Kenneth Ryden (16) Big Red Prop Flower - Jennifer Meyer (17) Quit Whining - Macy Dorf (18) Sol Y Sombra - Bernie Carreño (19) Weeping - Bernie Carreño (20) Stacked Totems - Bernie Carreño (21)

Near the west entrance of campus, next to the Fifth Third Bank, stands the 15-foottall Jacob’s Ladder, 1, a painted steel sculpture by artist Bernie Carreño. Jacob's Ladder represents Carreño’s boyhood memories of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. The powerful image of electrical charges moving between two poles, and the equally powerful mountain landscape viewed between two trees, inspired this sculpture depicting natural energies.

Close to the west entrance of the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center is artist Shawn Phillip Morin’s sculpture, Dot to Dot, 2, made of granite, steel, and stainless steel. Morin, who received his MFA in sculpture from the University of Georgia at Athens, now heads the sculpture program at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Morin’s work has been widely exhibited and collected throughout the U.S.

Northwest of the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center are two sculptures. Wave Form Two, 3, created by Gary Gresko of Oriental, North Carolina, consists of salvaged wood from docks destroyed by hurricanes. "Art for me is an exploration in both style and materials. The journey, the surprises, the excitement comes with the unexpected."

Closer to the entrance to the Department of Art and Design office is the large red steel sculpture Temple XVIII, 4, by Austin Collins. Collins received an MFA from Claremont (Cal.) Graduate University and a Master of Divinity degree from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He is a professor in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design at the University of Notre Dame. His work is included in many collections, including Loyola, University of Chicago, and California State University-Hayward.

Schlebecker’s terra-cotta sculpture, Flowers & Wallpaper, 5, is across the drive near the Sease Wing of the Krannert Memorial Library building. Schlebecker is an art educator and graduate student at the University.

Near the east end of the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center are works by Dee Schaad and Catherine Schlebecker. Schaad, a professor in the Department of Art and Design at the University of Indianapolis, has installed a clay sculpture, Totem, 6, outside the ceramics classroom. His work is included in a number of public and private collections, including the University of Evansville and the Sheldon Swope Art Museum in Terre Haute.

Lee Benson is the chair of the Department of Art and Design at Union University in Tennessee. His ceramic work Adam & Eve, 7, stands between the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center and Esch Hall.

In front of the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center, on the Southeast corner facing Esch Hall, sits Sunstruck, 8. This painted steel sculpture by Nicole Beck is a whimsical, quirky sculpture that can be interpreted simultaneously as two sun forms rising and setting under the dome of the sky—or two eyes with multiple irises, complete with feathery eyelashes peering across the landscape under the dome of its bald head. This piece is included in a body of work exploring abstract metaphors for astronomical physics and dynamics. Nicole Beck holds an MFA from Northern Illinois University. Her work is included in numerous public and private collections.

Three sculptures stand in front of the Krannert Memorial Library. Numinous Wedge, 9, is a wood and steel work by Jay Dougan, a professor and working artist in Colorado.

The metal and glass sculpture Universal Continuum, 10, is by Beverly Precious, internationally known for her site-specific large-scale pieces that incorporate dichroic glass to produce a dramatic, kinetic effect.

Anatomy Vessel, 11, is by Eric Nordgulen, chair of the Fine Arts Department and associate professor of sculpture at the Herron School of Art and Design at IUPUI. Eric’s work can beseen on Massachusetts Avenue in Indianapolis and in numerous public and private collections.

Southwest of Martin Hall is Rain, 12, by Kevin Lyles. Rain uses steel and stone to capture Lyles’ impression of a rainstorm.His work is inspired by the inherent patterns, contrasts, textures, and contradictions in nature. He combines natural properties with the elements and principles of art and design to create work that interests and challenges him. Lyles has been a professor of Art at the University of Rio Grande in southwest Ohio since 1990. He has a BFA from Abilene Christian University and an MFA in sculpture from Bradley University. Lyles’ work is included in private and public collections both regionally and nationally.

On the Northwest corner of Smith Mall, near Martin Hall, sits Jake Webster’s Strength, 13, a red oak sculpture. Strength came from the necessity of family coming together to take care of aging parents. “When life forces pull and tug at us from all directions, we must find the strength to hold on. We may twist and bend just like a tree in a storm, but because we are anchored, we have the strength to hold on. To hold on, we must see that failure is not an option.” Webster is a sculptor, mixed media, and spoken work performer. His work speaks about his community and the environment in which he lives. He uses the tradition of direct carving and applies a contemporary attitude by creating art with whatever is at hand to tell his story: “I use simple tools to cut simple shapes to make a simple statement about a simple world we have made more complex.” His work is included in many private and public collections. He lives and works in Elkhart, Ind.

At the southeast corner of Lilly Science Hall is Brian Ferriby’s painted steel sculpture, Caterpillar, 14. Ferriby, who is from Berklem, Michigan, uses copper and steel mined in the Upper Peninsula. Ferriby employs techniques elemental to the region, from the earliest blacksmiths to those of the ironworkers who built factories, skyscrapers, and bridges. "I believe my sculpture is a continuation of these innovations."

South of the Schwitzer Student Center are two additional artworks. The stoneware sculpture Modular Tower, 15, by Barry Barnes is the result of a spontaneous approach to the ceramic surface. Each modular block is approached as an individual “canvas” investigation—a collage of textures, line, shape, pattern, color, and recognizable images. Engobes and underglazes are layered on stoneware clay and fired to cone 7 in oxidation. Barnes has a BFA in Ceramics from the Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA from Arizona State University. Barnes owns a private studio, Beech Grove Clayworks, for working and teaching. He also teaches ceramics at Vincennes University.

Freedom’s Folly, 16, is an aluminum fabrication by artist Kenneth Ryden, depicting the contrasting definitions of the term “freedom.” Self-determination and individual expression are implied. A native of Chicago, Ryden taught and served as artist-in-residence at several Midwestern universities, including Southern Illinois University and the University of Missouri. He is artist-inresidence and professor of art at Anderson University and resides in Yorktown, Ind.

Across the atrium in Esch Hall, opposite Quit Whining, stands Big Red Prop Flower, 17, a composite of found objects altered and painted. This sculpture by Jennifer Meyer, Lansing, Ill., was inspired by ecological and environmental concerns. The collection and assemblage of these found objects, once discarded, is her attempt "to clean up the planet."

Macy Dorf's sculpture, Quit Whining, 18, is on the second floor of Esch Hall, outside the offices of the School of Education. Dorf lives and works in Denver, Col. He has been represented by many galleries and his work can be found in numerous private and corporate collections.

The bright yellow steel sculpture Sol Y Sombra, 19, by Bernie Carreño, is found between Good Hall and Cravens Hall and can be seen from Hanna Avenue. The sculpture was inspired by brilliant sunlight at a bullfight in Madrid, Spain. Carreño, who has an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is a full-time artist living and working in Indianapolis.

Weeping, 20, is a cast-iron sculpture by Bernie Carreño. Weeping is located on the northwest corner in front of Good Hall and is a comment on the pain of the Iraq War. It was inspired by the sight of the branches of an old weeping willow tree at dusk. The sagging of the limbs and oppressive shade created by the dense foliage invoke a feeling of burden. The use of rough iron and a natural rust finish emphasizes this tone. The sculpture was cast in seven sections and then assembled using fasteners, which integrated part of the sculpture.

On the northeast corner near the Alumni House sits Stacked Totems, 21. Stacked Totems is made of ceramics, steel, and bronze by Liz Vercruysse. Stacked totemic forms explore the repetitive object-making of traditional pottery and organic textures and forms inspired by botany. Each form is wheel-thrown, altered, then glazed, fired in with wood and salt, and finally assembled by stacking. Liz Vercruysse works from her private studio, nestled in the rolling hills of eastern Nebraska. Her award-winning clay work is exhibited both locally and nationally in group and solo exhibitions. Recently she won the 2008 Best of Show award in Charleston, S.C. Her work has also been shown at the Bemis Center of Contemporary Arts, the Joslyn Art Museum, the Museum of Nebraska Art, and Woman Made Gallery in Chicago. Her work is included in numerous public and private collections and has recently been published in Ceramics Monthly, American Craft, and Niche magazine.