Commissioned piece is work of nationally-renowned sculptor Richard Hunt

A new sculpture commemorating USI’s 50th anniversary will soon grace 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,” will be dedicated at 11 a.m. Thursday, October 22.

The welded and fabricated abstract stainless steel sculpture will sit atop a 2-foot high base, and will be situated near the southeast side of the main lawn of the Quad, facing the Liberal Arts Center. An artist reception will be held preceding the event at 10 a.m. 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.

Ivy Tech Community College Southwest announces today that students in the Education program will be donating school supplies to Glenwood Leadership Academy as part of a service learning project. The school supplies were donated by Ivy Tech faculty, students, and community members. The items donated include school necessities such as backpacks, folders, pencils, crayons, tissue boxes, children’s shoes, and more.

Ivy Tech & Glenwood Leadership Academy

Donation Delivery

Friday, October 23^rd

Noon-1p.m.

Glenwood Leadership Academy

901 Sweetser Ave.

Evansville, IN  47713

The school supplies will be delivered to Glenwood Leadership Academy (GLA) on Friday, October 23, at Noon. Education Program Chair Dr. Cassandra Gray, and the students who participated in the fundraising, will be at the school until 1p.m.

“Our goal with service learning projects such as this is to emphasize the importance of giving back to the community,” said Ivy Tech Education Program Chair Dr. Cassandra Gray. “We want our students to realize that even a small donation such as this can make a real difference in a child’s life.”

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Richard Maass, University of Evansville assistant professor of political science, will be the speaker for the UE Andiron Lecture on Wednesday, November 4. His topic will be “Salami Tactics and the Future of U.S. Russian Revelations.” All the lectures in the series are at 4 p.m. in Room 252 in Eykamp Hall in Ridgway University Center, with a social hour at 3:45 p.m. They are free and open to the public.

Other lectures in this year’s series include:

● December 2: “Evansville on the Ohio” – Thomas Lonnberg, curator of history at the Evansville Museum of Arts

● February 3: “Emotional Responsibility and Teaching Ethics: Student Empowerment” – Lisa Kretz, UE assistant professor of philosophy

● March 2: “The Hunt for Dark Matter” – Angela Reisetter, UE assistant professor of physics

● April 13: “The Prophets of Penzance: The Wesleys Take Cornwall and Devonshire (and They’re Probably Way Cooler than You Thought” – Mitch Gieselman, UE alum and pastor at Aldersgate United Methodist Church

For more information, please call 812-488-1070 or 812-488-2589.

Commissioned piece is work of nationally-renowned sculptor Richard Hunt

A new sculpture commemorating USI’s 50th anniversary will soon grace 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,” will be dedicated at 11 a.m. this Thursday, October 22.