Photo by Amy Smotherman Burgess
Workers construct the newest addition to the Johnson-Ward Pedestrian Mall, a highly-traveled section of UT's campus.
KNOXVILLE - A new 25-foot-tall sculpture is being installed this week on the University of Tennessee's Knoxville campus, thanks to a private gift from alumnus Wilton D. "Chick" Hill.
The sculpture, designed by New York-based artist Alice Aycock, has a swirling, spiral shape made of curved aluminum and lighting elements. It is being installed throughout this week on the Johnson-Ward Pedestrian Mall.
Titled "A Startling Whirlwind of Opportunity," UT officials said the sculpture conveys the energy the artist sensed from the site - an area frequented by hundreds of college students daily.
UT officials said Aycock views her piece as a metaphor for the possibilities and interconnections that occur in the university environment.
"The acquisition of knowledge is not a static series of steps but an incredibly dynamic, energetic and creative ricochet of information," Aycock said in a statement. "Ideas are not at rest."
To help ensure the piece will fit into UT's Make Orange Green campus sustainability initiative, some of the sculpture's lighting elements will use low-energy LED lighting, and timing devices will be installed to control when lighting elements are used.
Hill, a Memphis resident and owner of the Davidson Hotel Co., received an engineering degree from UT in 1973. Although he was not an art student while at UT, he wanted to shared his love of art with current UT students, faculty and staff, UT said.
"Chick Hill is very contemporary and forward-thinking when it comes to art, and he also values his experiences with UT over the years," Jason Brown, associate professor of sculpture in the School of Art, said in a statement. "He wanted (the sculpture) to be about opportunity, because he feels like his education at UT is directly responsible for what he's been able to accomplish in his life."
The UT Public Art Selection Committee, made up of faculty, students, administrators and Knoxville-area artists, commissioned Aycock after reviewing the work of approximately 220 applicants. The five-year process began in January 2005, when the committee made an international call to artists to submit resumes and portfolios.
Aycock will be on campus throughout the installation process. A dedication event will be held on Friday, Sept. 11.
More details as they develop online and in Thursday's News Sentinel.
© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Comments » 1
RockyTopVolFan writes:
Ms. Aycock's sculpture looks like the lunar lander and should have been publicized as celebratory of the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing and walk.
Next, I suggest Chick pay for a Smokey in a space suit alongside the "lander" sculpture to mimic Neal Armstrong's Moonwalk, and to further illustrate his love of "art".
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