New works added to outdoor sculpture tour
Oct. 12, 2001
KALAMAZOO -- Six new works have been added to the critically acclaimed Western Michigan University Sculpture Tour.
The new works were installed over the summer and join the tour's 12 existing pieces. Walking tours of the outdoor exhibition are being offered on Sunday, Oct. 14, during Homecoming weekend.
"I am excited about the new additions," says Carol Rhodes, a WMU instructor of art and administrative assistant for the WMU Sculpture Tour Program. "We have some really wonderful pieces and they are all very different from what we have had, in many ways."
Among the new additions is a piece by Luis Jimenez, a nationally recognized artist from New Mexico. Jimenez, who teaches at the University of Texas at Houston, was an artist-in-residence in the WMU Department of Art in March, making two large lithographs in University printmaking studios under the direction of Dr. Curtis Rhodes, WMU professor of art. Jimenez collaborated with students and master printer Michael Sims, a 1969 graduate of WMU. His sculpture, titled "Mesteno," is located near the Gilmore Theatre Complex.
"It's on the same par as having a piece by Bob Stackhouse, another artist of very national stature, on the tour," Rhodes says.
Pieces by Ed Shay and Shaun Cassidy also have been added to the tour. The works come to WMU after being on exhibit at the Decordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Massachusetts, a well-known and highly respected venue, Rhodes says. Shay's piece "Skyscraper with Crutches" is near Waldo Library, while Cassidy's "Dark Stance" can be seen near Miller Auditorium.
Rounding out the new pieces are Lee Collett's "Tower at 4:00 A.M." in the third floor atrium of Sangren Hall, Dora Natella's "Gaia" on the south lawn of Sangren Hall and Terry Thommes' "Incoming/Outgoing" between the Lee Honors College and Rood Hall.
Natella and Thommes are both WMU graduates, with Natella earning her master's degree in 1986 and Thommes receiving a bachelor's degree n 1978.
"Something we're always interested in showcasing is students who have studied here and have gone on to make it," Rhodes says. "They are both very successful artists."
Now nearly 10 years old, the WMU Sculpture Tour is not only one of the oldest-running sculpture tours in the nation, it has become one of the more-recognized tours of its kind, Rhodes says.
Walking tours on Sunday, Oct. 14, are between noon and 12:30 p.m. and leave from the Dalton Center at 10-minute intervals. Those wishing to take the tour on their own may do so using site maps provided in the Dalton Center foyer and at the candy counter in the Bernhard Center.
Additional information is available at the Art Exhibitions Web site. A full-color catalogue will be available in early January. For more information, call Rhodes at (616) 387-2433 or Dr. Phillip VanderWeg, program director and chairperson of the Department of Art, at (616) 387-2438.
Media contact: Mark Schwerin, 616 387-8400, mark.schwerin@wmich.edu