Irby Hall’s Outdoor Installation – ‘Song of the Earth’»
By Avery Rudolph, Senior Undergrad Student | Art History »
Tom Gibbs, Song of the Earth, 1993, Sculpture made of bronze, granite, and stone
In 1993, Iowan artist Tom Gibbs won the University of Central Arkansas’ Sculpture Competition. The site-specific installation titled, Song of the Earth is located on the west side of Irby Hall and is made of bronze, granite, and stone. The competition was first initiated by former UCA President Winfred Thompson in 1989. He created an ad-hoc campus sculpture committee that was comprised of six faculty members. That same year, eighty-four artists applied. Richard Hunt, a renowned sculptor, juried the competition and chose fifteen out of the eighty-four semi-finalists. (Excerpted from Gallery Label by Director Brian Young).
Tom Gibbs, Song of the Earth, 1993, Sculpture made of bronze, granite, and stone
From that pool, nine finalists were selected by Dr. Helen Phillips, a UCA art professor, and Townsend Wolfe who was the Executive Director of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Art – formerly known as the Arkansas Arts Center. The finalists submitted maquettes of their envisioned sculptures to be installed on the UCA campus. Dr. Gayle Seymour – UCA art history professor and Associate Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Department, selected the site at Irby with assistance from her Senior Seminar class that researches Contemporary Public Art. (Excerpted from Gallery Label by Director Brian Young).
Tom Gibbs, Song of the Earth, 1993, Sculpture made of bronze, granite, and stone
In addition to Song of the Earth, this exhibit includes documentation of four of the finalists: Roberto Bertoia (Pegasus and Wind Walk) who is a New York-based sculptor and an art professor at Cornell University. Since 1981, has been in twenty-three selected exhibitions. Carolyn Braaksma (Gazing Globe and Benches) who received her Bachelor’s of Art at the Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colorado. She also did her graduate work in studio arts at the University of Michigan. Phillip Rickey (Saskatoon Symposium Project) of Saint Pail, Minnesota, who has been in countless exhibitions, including five sculpture symposiums in West Germany and Saskatchewan. Jesús Moroles (Lapstrake 87) from Corpus Christi, Texas, is a renown 20th-century sculptor who has been involved in numerous workshops, lectures, solo and group exhibitions. His alabaster marble sculpture, Pyramid Bench, was purchased by the University and is installed north of the Baum Gallery of Fine Art. (Excerpted from Gallery Label by Director Brian Young).
If you are interested in seeing the original maquette of Tom Gibbs’ sculpture Song of the Earth, as well as images of his process, please visit the Baum Gallery which is open Monday-Friday 10am-5pm, Saturday – Closed, and Sunday from 1pm-5pm.
Photo credit to Avery Rudolph.
