DavidsonNews.net Guide » sculpture

College sculpture collection grows with ‘Waves III’

Andrew Wilkins — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:58:45 +0000

Donor Jim Pepper, Davidson Class of ’65, with “Waves III” by Spanish sculptor Jaume Plensa (Cathryn Westra photo)

By ANDREW WILKINS
DavidsonNews.net

A small crowd gathered at Davidson College Thursday to dedicate “Waves III,” the newest addition to the college’s outdoor sculpture collection. The work by contemporary Spanish artist Jaume Plensa is a stainless-steel figure, seated on stone and fashioned from letters and characters representing languages across the globe.

The guests included President Carol Quillen and other college staff, students and art lovers, and alumnus Jim Pepper, of the Davidson Class of 1965, who donated the work.

Art Department Chair Cort Savage led the ceremony, which celebrated both the sculpture and the importance of art and culture on Davidson’s campus.

Pepper, a longtime supporter of the arts at Davidson, said, “Public art is important in every place.” Pieces such as “Waves III” “expand our view and challenge us to understand and practice tolerance,” he said.

In addition to dedicating the sculpture, the ceremony celebrated the broader significance of arts and expression on Davidson’s campus. Students performed “Art is Universal,” a song written by Choral Director Dr. Christopher Gilliam and debuted at yesterday’s dedication.

Students from China, Ecuador, and France spoke about the significance of art in their lives, both in their native country and at Davidson. Reflecting on her passion for dance, Gaby Baldeon, a senior from Ecuador, said that “I couldn’t imagine my Davidson experience without art on campus and in the classroom.”

Art Department Chair Cort Savage delivers remarks at the dedication of Waves III (Cathryn Westra photo)

Savage, who is himself a sculptor, elaborated on the significance of the sculpture on Davidson’s campus, stating that the sculpture “does exactly what art does so well. Waves III encourages us to muse.”

Quillen echoed this sentiment in her closing remarks, saying that Jaume Plensa’s work “invites me to re-evaluate work I do, both as a historian and as a college administrator.”

“Waves III” is the latest addition to the Campus Sculpture Program. It joins other pieces installed on campus, including four sculptures located nearby between the Chambers Building and E.H. Little Library. More information on Davidson’s sculpture collection and its permanent arts collection can be found online at davidsoncollegeartgalleries.org.

Summer outing: Relax in the (sculpture) garden

David Boraks — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:16:11 +0000

Antony Gormley's "You" at Davidson College. (Lisa Jewel/DavidsonNews.net)

Here is a “how to enjoy Art Around Town” experience for Davidsonnews.net readers: First, go over to Summit Coffee on Main Street. Grab a cold coffee drink for yourself and maybe a fruit smoothie and a snack for the kids. Pick up a newspaper or a book at Main Street Books. Then, stroll over toward Davidson College’s E.H. Little Library, where you’ll find a small sculpture garden. There, you’ll find well-maintained Adirondack chairs in a grassy and well-shaded area that begs for visitors. Make yourself comfortable. Let the kids look at “You.” No, not you, but “You” – an everyman sculpture made out of cast iron by British artist Antony Gormley in 2005. Let the kids play tag with “You” as home base. (Nobody can leave the grassy circle.) Now you enjoy your reading and the space. Kids tired of tag? Have them build a human tower that resembles the shape of the bronze untitled work by Joel Shapiro (1995). Now, snap a picture of your crew with your camera phone. Email it to me at lskjewel@aol.com and I’ll post it in a future Art Around Town column. Now how fun was that?

Joel Shapiro's "Untitled" 1995. (Lisa Jewel/DavidsonNews.net)

Art Around Town,” by Lisa Jewel, appears Fridays on DavidsonNews.net’s Guide page. Lisa is keeping a sort of “visual journal” of interesting objects she finds in the area. Some are items for sale at local galleries, others prized possessions in our homes. Have an object to share? Email Lisa, lskjewel@aol.com. See her previous columns in the Art Around Town category

Sculpture by Magadalena Abakanowicz at Davidson

David Boraks — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:51:41 +0000

A sculpture exhibit that Davidson College is calling one of its most ambitious ever opened last week (Jan. 15) at the college’s Van Every/Smith Galleries, in the Belk Visual Arts Center at Griffith and Main streets. Through Feb. 26, Davidson is showing the work of contemporary Polish sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz, one of the most influential artists of the last 50 years.

“She’s certainly the most important female artist of her generation,” Davidson art professor and sculpture Cort Savage said in an announcement on the college website. “She brought fiber arts into the mainstream of sculpture, and brought the human figure back to art in the 1970s when it was emerging from minimalism.”

The show includes 19 works that focus on the themes of humans and nature from Ms. Abakanowicz’s last two decades of production.

WANT TO GO?

DAVIDSON COLLEGE BELK VISUAL ART CENTER, Main and Griffith streets – Jan. 15 to Feb. 26: sculpture by Magdalena Abakanowicz. Gallery hours: Weekdays, 10 am – 5 pm, Sat./Sun., noon to 4 p.m. Direction sand details on the college website.