On behalf of An Appalachian Summer, the Office of Cultural Affairs and the Catherine J. Smith Gallery, I want to express our gratitude to all of the artists who participated in this year’s competition and congratulate those selected for the exhibition. We appreciate their efforts in making these works available to our community during the upcoming year. I wish to offer our sincerest thanks to our juror, John Henry, for accepting the difficult challenge of adjudicating this year’s competition and comment him for selecting these outstanding works.
The sculpture competition, now in its seventh year, is made possible by a generous gift from Martin and Doris Rosen. Martin and Doris Rosen continue to be a major force contributing to the cultural climate of the University and Northwest North Carolina. We are most grateful for their support and wish to extend our deepest appreciation.
On view year round, the Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition, is a dynamic component of the visual arts not only for Appalachian State University but within our region as well.
– Terry Suhre, Curator
Juror’s statement
The elements which make up the process of the juried sculpture exhibition are the field from which the juror must choose and the choice is ultimately made. As the positive reputation of a competition becomes widespread, a level of maturity is reached which enhances the quality of the work submitted.
The Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition has achieve recognition as being among the finest annual juried exhibitions of its kind. The juror’s task is therefore increasingly difficult as the overall quality is high and the choices made indicate to a great degree, the prejudice of the person empowered to select the show.
The choice of this year’s participants in the Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition reflects my sculpture vision and sensibilities. I am please with the content and appearance of the show as a whole. I am equally pleased with the overall quality of the field from which the exhibition was chosen.
– John Henry
Evan Lewis, Sound Asylum. 1993 / 7th Rosen Sculpture Competition Winner.
Sculptures
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Sound Asylum1st Place
Sound Asylum
Evan Lews
Chicago, Illinois
Steel, Wood, and Aluminum. 17′ x 9′ x 9′
About the artist
Education: BFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
For more information, visit www.evanlewisinc.com.
Century of Progress
Thomas R. Stancliffe
New Hartford, Louisiana
Steel, Glass, Acrylic, and Neon. 6′ 11″ x 1′ 11″ x 1′ 11″
About the artist
Education: MFA, Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, IL; BS, Illinois State University, Normal, IL.
Cheerleaders Over the Transom
William Leck Willett
Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Steel and Wood. 12′ x 2′ x 3′
About the artist
Education: MFA, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; BS, Appalachian State University; Associate of Art, Western Piedmont Community College, Morganton, NC.
Denizen
Arthur P. Baker
Vero Beach, Florida
Aluminum. 17′ x 17′ x 6′ 8″
About the artist
Education: Center for Visual Arts, Vero Beach, FL.
Do Angels Ever Tell Lies?
James A. Rosburg
North Miami, Florida
Steel. 8′ 6″ x 4′ x 3′
About the artist
Education: BFA, University of Iowa.
Elegy #2
Edwin McCullough
Cissna Park, Illinois
Cor-ten Steel. 3′ 2″ x 9′ 9″ x 7′ 10″
About the artist
Education: MA, BA, Illinois State University, Normal, IL.
Final Question
Fr Austin Collins
Notre Dame, Indiana
Steel. 9′ 6″ x 6′ 8″ x 3′ 1″
About the artist
Professor Austin Collins is a sculptor known for his large-scale metal work that draws on and extends the Modernist tradition. His work has been featured in 137 exhibitions and is included in over 57 public and private collections. He has also given 35 public lectures on his work at various institutions across the country.
Collins’s area of practice includes public art, large outdoor sculpture, installation art and liturgical art. The theme of his creative work often deals with political and social issues.
Collins has exhibitions at Northwestern University, University of Tennessee, University of Alabama, University of California and the University Virginia. He currently has work on view at: University of Alabama, City of Huntsville, AL Sacred Heart University Fairfield, CT, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, Indiana University, South Bend, IN, City of Port Huron, MI, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC. Fernwood Botanical Garden & Nature Preserve, Niles, MI, Fredrik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, MI and Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH. His work has been reviewed and written about in publications such as Sculpture Magazine, The Chicago Sun-Times, New City Chicago, The Detroit News, The Indianapolis Star and Dialogue.
Collins Studied art at the University of California at Berkeley and received a M.F.A. in sculpture from Claremont Graduate University. Collins is currently a professor of sculpture at the University of Notre Dame, a position he has held for the past 29 years.
For more information, visit www3.nd.edu/~acollins.
Hora Decubitus
Ted Garner
Chicago, Illinois
Steel. 5′ x 6′ 2″ x 5′ 6″
About the artist
Education: BFA, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO.
Stalemate
Robert L. Coon
Vero Beach, Florida
Polychromed Aluminum. 10′ 4″ x 4′ 2″ x 3′ 6″
About the artist
Education: MFA, University of Massachusetts at Amherst; BFA, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.
For more information, visit www.robertcoonsculptor.homestead.com.
Wellspring Portal II
Dennis Whitcopf
Richmond, Kentucky
Limestone and Welded Steel. 5′ 7″ x 2′ 7″ x 1′ 9″
About the artist
Education: MFA, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA; BA California State University, Northridge, CA.
About the juror
Since 1967, John Henry has been creating sculpture of equipoise tension and grace. A leader in the large sculpture movement of the 1970s, along with other notable artists such as Mark di Suvero, Richard Huny and Steven Urry, Mr. Henry’s works “… redefined the possibilities of public art and challenged the public’s expectations about contemporary sculpture.” John Henry’s pieces are represented in museums, corporate, municipal and private collections throughout the country. Recently he has placed a major work at the Sonje Musuem of Contemporary Art in Kyongju City, Korea. His work has been included in dozens of group exhibitions and he has held numerous solo exhibitions in museums and galleries throughout the country and overseas as well.
Mr. Henry attended the University of Kentucky, the University of Washington, The Illinois Institute of Technology, The University of Chicago and the Art Institute of Chicago where he earned his Bachelors of Fine Art. He has been a visiting professor of sculpture at the University of Iowa, Iowa City; University of Wisconsin, Green Bay; the University of Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has served as a member of the Advisory Board of Lawyers for the Creative Arts; President and Chairman of the Board of ConStruct Corporation; acted as Coordinator and advisor to the Art Institute of Chicago and the City of Chicago for the “Sculptures in the Park Exhibition,” in the summer of 1974 and the Advisor to the Art Council of Greater New Orleans for the “Super Sculpture-New Orleans Exhibition,” in 1976.
A Special Thanks from the Curator
I want to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues in the Office of Cultural Affairs; Perry Mixter, Director; Gil Morgenstern, Artistic Director for An Appalachian Summer; Sali Gill-Johnson, General Manger; Sara Heustess, Box Office Manager for Farthing Auditorium; Greg Williams, Technical Director for Farthing Auditorium; Jim Sigmon, Assistant Technical Director for Farthing Auditorium; Sandra Black, Fiscal Officer; and Barbara Lawrence, Office Secretary. I also wish to acknowledge the support from Clyde Robbins, Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Physical Plant Operations; Larry Bordeaux, Director of Facility Support Services; Terry Beach ASU Grounds Supervisor; Evan Row, Safety Officer; and Sherry Edwards, Professor of Art. Their efforts, advice and encouragement in presenting the exhibition is greatly appreciated.
My thanks to those whose skills and talents made this publication possible: Ed Midgett for his excellent work in designing this publication; Kim Johnson, Gallery Assistant, for her involvement in all aspects of this program; and Greg Mills, Gallery Assistant for his considerable contributions in planning and overseeing the installations of the works on our campus.
To all of the above I extend my sincerest gratitude.
– Terry Suhre