Public art to be added to campus

Over the winter break an advisory committee made up of university faculty, staff and students approved a new art project that will add two pieces of art to the ASU campus.

A 20-foot tall stainless steel sculpture reminiscent of a double helix DNA structure will be placed near the University Mall close by Plaza Verde residence hall. Roger White Stoller of San Jose, Calif. will construct the sculpture. The total cost for the double helix piece is $375,000.

Joaquin Palencia of the Philippines will create a red ribbon of steel that symbolizes movement through its arching loops and swirls, according to a university released newsletter. The piece, "Kinesis," will be placed near the CHP. The total costs for, "Kinesis," is $60,000

"These pieces have been commissioned specifically for ASU," Facilities Planning and Construction Director John Russell said.

"We have two other pieces of large public art. The first one is the rams in front of the Junell Center that were donated to us, and the eagle that is along Johnson St. was also a donation," Russell said

The committee set design guidelines in their proposal for what they want the artwork to represent.

"We want the artwork to reflect the goal of each facility, so to do that we gave the artists a list of probable locations for the artwork," Russell said.

The addition of the artwork is to comply with a mandate made by the Texas Tech Board of Regents.  

 "When we joined the Texas Tech system, the Board of Regents mandated that 1 percent of our project costs of any project over a half of a million dollars be spent on public art," Russell said.

Student fees for the facility will cover the funds for the piece that will be placed by the CHP. Likewise, the fees charged for room and board will cover the piece that will go by Plaza Verde.

The idea of adding artwork to the campus has sparked many different reactions.

"The artwork is cool, but I think it's a waste of money," junior Connie Riddle said.

"There are other things we can use that money for and if we want some artwork then let's give our art students a chance to show off what they can do."

"As long as the work is aesthetically pleasing and relates to the school in some way I think it can be a good thing for ASU," sophomore Sally Gore said.

"I am all for it," junior Jeff Barrett said. "We need a little something to make the campus not as dull."

The artwork will be constructed at the respective artists' studios and will be transported to San Angelo, Russell said. The "Kinesis" piece is scheduled for delivery in January 2013, and the other piece is to be delivered one year later in January 2014.

An advisory committee meeting in Lubbock this weekend will discuss possible pieces of artwork to go near the Porter Henderson Library.