Art Walk explains UConn sculptures and installations

Led by docent Anne Marie Campbell, the Benton Art Museum Art Walk included little known information about sculptures and installations across campus.

“I’ve seen these sculptures so many times but I never knew what they represented or who created them,” said Kaitlynn Driscoll, a 3rd semester business major.

 “The walk taught me a lot about the artwork and how to view things from different angles.”

Beginning within the Benton itself, Campbell took students upstairs to an abstract sculpture created by David Hayes, an artist from Coventry. Campbell told students that a lot of the artwork displayed originates from local artists. She pointed out the large painting on the wall of the Benton, explaining how there were multiple artists who worked on it. They were given specific colors and free reign on the design, which is geometric and symmetrical.

Campbell then took students outside to the Rowe Center for Undergraduate Education, pointing out the frieze along the building. The frieze, defined as a broad horizontal band of sculpted decoration, included sculptures of students walking and words that represent what UConn values. 

At each sculpture, Campbell gave students a brief history of the piece including the artist’s name. She encouraged students to always look at the art from a variety of perspectives and evaluate pieces rather than simply walking by them every day. She stressed the importance of the different aspects of the pieces and the impact of each, like the impact of the colors on paintings and the texture of sculptures.

Campbell also took students to the library where Tim Prentice’s Zinger Mobile hangs. Campbell said the metal and paper installation hanging from the main entrance of Homer Babbidge represents the aesthetically vibrant and welcoming environment of the library. The sculpture of the book behind the library was created by a German couple and is a piece that consists of 12,000 lbs of granite. The sculpture of Jonathan the Husky was first created in foam mold and then bronzed afterward

“The tour was filled with interesting and fun facts that I would’ve never learned if I hadn’t joined,” Driscoll said. “It was quick but educational – I don’t know why more students don’t take advantage of it.”