NW Sculpture Walk presents outdoor art to community

By Bethany Peterson/nw news editor

NW Campus visitors can see sculptures by several well-known sculptors as well as TCC faculty.

The 2010 Sculpture Walk is a collection of various sculptors’ work outside WFAB.

Most of the sculptures are located on the lawn toward the highway. The sculptures will stay on campus for different lengths of time. Some are permanent.

William Cannings’ piece “Comfortable” looks like a large, inflatable air chair.

“For the past nine years, I have been inflating metal,” he said.

He said he cuts out pieces of metal, welds the edges together, then heats the metal to a plastic consistency and blows air in through an opening, literally inflating the metal shape.

Cannings painted “Comfortable” with a finish that mimics the shiny plastic of the store-bought chairs.

Going Mobile, Robbie Barber. Photo by Corban La Fon/The Collegian
Going Mobile, Robbie Barber. Photo by Corban La Fon/The Collegian

“I want to inspire someone to touch the work,” Cannings said. “It’s strong enough you can actually sit in it.”

In contrast, “Bad Penny Politics” by Dewane Hughes seeks to confront, not comfort. The piece symbolizes his belief that government is a “bad penny” that people cannot get rid of, Hughes said.

Hughes started with the basic shape of the Washington Monument, symbolizing government as a whole, then let ideas move and create, he said.

“I start by coming up with an image, cut it up, twist it, put it back together,” he said. “I don’t want to illustrate. I want to create an image or object that typifies the idea.”

He said that words or phrases often start the process, and then other words and thoughts shape the end piece.

“It’s like a dialogue I have with the materials,” he said.

Elaine Taylor’s work is different from the other sculptures and a little harder to see. Her “Stone Circles” are sunk into the ground for ease of mowing over them.

“When I do these large-scale works, they are site-specific,” Taylor said. “I usually make a larger wall, but because of groundskeeping, I made these flush with the ground.”

Four circles have been completed. The fifth and final circle will be finished soon.

“They are whatever people make of them,” she said. “Fairy rings, swimming pools.”

Taylor uses circles and spheres in her work because of people’s universal familiarity with them, she said.

“They carry a lot of connotations,” she said. “They are something everyone feels comfortable with.”

“Stone Circles” will be permanent, or as permanent as anything is, she said.

Frederick Spaulding, NW Campus art teacher and exhibit coordinator, said the exhibit is outside, so more students notice it.

“It wakes up your mind to see something new,” he said.