FLORENCE – “If you ask someone what sculpture have you seen lately, most of them are going to talk about public work,” said Aaron Benson, assistant professor of art at the University of North Alabama. “They’re not going to say I was inside this gallery. It’s more… I saw this on the corner of a street in New York, or I saw this in Chicago. So they talk about how they see these things in public; yet often times we think of art in a gallery space. I simply wanted to give the students the opportunity to work outside.”
Benson is talking about a series of sculpture pads that have been added around the art
Chiong-Yiao Chen
building on UNA’s campus to display student work, with the hope of adding professional work to the mix later. Benson and Chiong-Yiao Chen, art department chair, spent many hours on a proposal for the pads after the sculpture idea originated with Dean Carmen Burkhalter, of the College of Arts and Sciences.
“Dean Burkhalter has a vision of developing our fine arts area, including music and theatre,” Chen said. “She believes the creative arts area is a very important element in helping the university develop public relations and reach out to the community, or prospective students.”
Chen said the idea made sense since Benson’s specialty and area of teaching is ceramics and sculpture. “Aaron is involved with all aspects of three-dimensional art and he has a vision for the future development of our 3D program. Sculptures are tangible objects, it helps to engage people,” she said.
This is only one of the many sculptures created by the UNA Art students throughout the semester in Aaron Benson\’s sculpture class.
Photographer: Shannon Wells
Benson said that when he first heard the idea of the pads, two thoughts came to him: One, he could possibly use it as an opportunity to display his sculptures and professional pieces; and his other thought was that it could be integrated into the current curriculum.
“I wanted to give the students the opportunity to work outside, but also use it to teach about the parameters you need to address,” Benson said. “Like what about longevity? What if it rains on your sculpture?”
The goal, according to Benson, is for this to grow. “So maybe the history department will see the sculptures and want to place another one in front of their building and so on,” he said. However, for the time being the four pads on campus are currently filled with student art.
Benson said something that’s really nice is that you can drive down the road on Pine Street and see two sculptures; it puts pride into the students to create something that’s actually going to be seen. “So it ups the craftsmanship, the effort and the amount of time they spend on it,” he said.
Aaron Benson
For Chen, it’s also about conveying the idea that art is not always just a spark; developing an amazing piece is a process. The idea that UNA’s campus could be an art destination is an opportunity that both Chen and Benson think can be accomplished.
“You know, this allows people to come onto our campus and see our campus not just as contemporary, but as a place they can go and see fine art,” said Benson. “I personally think that if this goes according to plan it will really grow the dynamic of the campus layout and people will eventually come here just so they can see the sculptures.”
Chen said the current pieces will be on display throughout the summer.
For more information on the UNA Department of Art: https://www.una.edu/art/
Media Release/University of North Alabama/Bryan Rachal
