Walking between Penfield Library and the Marano Campus Center, students may notice a cluster of sculptures standing in the grass, lit at night by the surrounding lamps.
These sculptures are part of the Oswego Sculpture Initiative, a rotating exhibit of sculptures from around the country, offered by artists for a period of two years.
The current sculptures are the bulk of the second rotation of the initiative. The first round ended over the summer after two years on campus.
The initiative is a direct response to the closing of Tyler Hall and the displacement of the Tyler Art Gallery during the renovation of the hall, which was re-opened to students this semester.
The Oswego Sculpture Initiative reaches out to artists by word of mouth, through artist communities all over the country. When an artist is interested, he or she contacts the initiatives managing team, and their work is reviewed by a board representing every department of the college. Once the artists’ work has been accepted, the work is delivered to Oswego State and placed in between Penfield Library and Marano Campus Center.
The sculptures on campus currently represent the work of six artists from as close as Rochester and as far away as North Carolina. They represent a multitude of meanings and backgrounds. According to an Oswego County Today article, the sculpture of two steel beams with a circular aspect in between their highest ends, titled “Industrial Nation” by its creator, miChelle Vara of Wilson, New York, focuses on the United States and its reaction to the tragedy of 9/11. The tilted beam represents the rise of human emotion and caring, while the vertical beam represents the strength of the nation in the face of tragedy.
Not all the sculptures represent such a concrete idea, however. Frederick Douglass Schatz of Potsdam, whose sculpture is displayed, said “The piece on your campus is inspired by my studies in geology… In that way, ‘Prince’ single marks shows the points you see above ground, but implies there is more to it when you start to really look at it.”
‘Under the Wave’ by Kevin Dartt of Rochester is meant to represent the danger that human society faces when the refuse of our society mixes with the natural world. The wave is meant to impose a sense of fear and anxiety in response to the damage society has done to nature.
Once the two-year rotation period is up, it’s time for a new set of sculptures to dot the campus and the artists typically collect their work from the campus.
Not all artists retrieve their pieces, though. “Most often the sculptors come to retrieve [the pieces], although Edward Kelley donated his 2014-2016 piece ‘Belfry’ to the school so that [it] will soon be installed permanently near the south entrance to Shineman,” said Michael Flanagan, director of the Tyler Art Gallery and director of the Oswego Sculpture Initiative.
Flanagan said the piece to take the location that “Belfry” is currently located in will be Duncan Chase’s ‘Prince.’
The current lineup of sculptures on campus will remain until summer 2018, when they will be replaced with the next lineup for the initiative.
