USI dedicates 50th anniversary sculpture

Commissioned piece is work of nationally-renowned sculptor Richard Hunt

A new sculpture commemorating USI’s 50th anniversary now graces the USI campus. The 14-foot, 2,000-pound stainless steel piece, created by nationally-renowned sculptor and Chicago-based artist Richard Hunt, and titled, “From Our Past Toward Our Future,” was dedicated Thursday, October 22.

The welded and fabricated abstract stainless steel sculpture sits atop a 2-foot high base, and is situated near the southeast side of the main lawn of the Quad, facing the Liberal Arts Center. An artist reception was held preceding the event in the Ruth M. Kleymeyer Hall of Presidents in the David L. Rice Library.

“It’s a spontaneous creation that was inspired by my experience of the environment, feeling and history of the campus,” said Hunt.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 12, 1935, Hunt, an internationally-acclaimed artist has become one of the most prolific artists working in America today. With more than 125 major public commissions across the nation to date, he is considered a master of welded steel sculpture.

Hunt developed an interest in art from an early age; from seventh grade on attending the Junior School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). He went on to study there at the college level, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Education in 1957. A traveling fellowship took him to England, France, Spain and Italy the following year. While still a student at SAIC, he began exhibiting his sculptures nationwide and, during his junior year, one of his pieces, “Arachne,” was purchased by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1962, he was the youngest artist to exhibit at Seattle’s World Fair.

In 1967, Hunt’s career in sculpture began to take him outside the studio with his first large-scale public sculpture commission, “Play” (the first sculpture commissioned by the State of Illinois Public Art Program). The piece marked the beginning of what Hunt refers to as “his second career,” one that gives him the opportunity to work on sculpture that “responds to the specifics of architectural or other designed spaces and the dynamics of diverse communities and interests.”

Hunt has received honors and recognition throughout his career and, in 1971, was the first African-American sculptor to have a major solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. His work can be found in numerous museums as well as both public and private collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery and National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C., the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

In 1968, he was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as one of the first artists to serve on the National Council on the Arts, the governing board of the National Endowment for the Arts. He has received numerous fellowships, prizes and awards and holds 16 honorary degrees from universities around the country. He holds memberships in the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Academy of Design. In 2009, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Sculpture Center. This year he is receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from Partners for Livable Communities in Washington, D.C.

The commissioning of the 50th anniversary sculpture was made possible through a generous gift of James A. Sanders. Sanders, an honorary degree recipient of the University of Southern Indiana, has been a friend of the University for over 40 years and deeply involved with the arts and humanities. He is a Life Director of the USI Foundation Board of Directors, and currently serves as an honorary chair of Campaign USI: Elevating Excellence. He also served as director of Historic New Harmony from 1985 to 1995. An American antiques expert, he lectures and teaches widely and is a sought-after consultant and appraiser. In 2005, he received the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana’s Arts Advocate of the Year Award. Sanders had a distinguished career in education. He taught English and journalism in the Henderson, Kentucky, public schools, was a teacher and coordinator for the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation, and served as the district state supervisor for marketing instruction.