2nd PUBLIC ART PRESENTATION TODAY AT 11 A.M.
Sculptor Archie Held of Point Richmond, Calif., will be on campus today to present his work as the second of three artists under consideration in the USAO Public Art Project this spring.
Held’s brief presentation is scheduled at 11 a.m. today -- Thursday, March 2 -- in the Davis Hall Theater at USAO. Held will present his proposal for the public art sculpture to be erected in the Alumni Walk of Fame in front of the USAO Nash Library.
Archie Held holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in sculpture from UCLA and has 26 years of professional experience. His works are in collections from California to Canada and from Germany to Japan. The artist works primarily with bronze and stainless steel for his public art projects.
His philosophy of public art is one of inclusion: “Through the simplicity and elegance of my sculptural designs, I strive to enhance and complement the environs and the architecture while making a dynamic statement that will draw people to the location and reward them with a visual experience,” he said.
USAO is the first educational institution in the state to collaborate with the newly formed Office of Oklahoma Art in Public Places per legislative action stated in the Oklahoma Art in Public Places Act of 2004.
USAO has selected three artists from a pool of 82 state, national and international sculptors competing in USAO’s Nash Library Public Art Project. Characteristic examples of their work can be viewed on the USAO website: /gallery/finalists.htm.
The one remaining contender is artist Ulrich Pakker of Seattle, Wash., who will speak on campus March 9.
“This project reflects the mission of the Oklahoma Art in Public Places program to use the arts to reflect the state’s unique history, spirit and diversity and to imbue the state with a vibrant sense of place,” said Julie Bohannon, who coordinates the public art project at USAO. “The project also enhances USAO’s mission as the state’s public liberal arts college in providing the public a thorough education preparing and enriching students for meaningful, purposeful lives.”
“This project reflects the mission of the Oklahoma Art in Public Places program to use the arts to reflect the state’s unique history, spirit and diversity and to imbue the state with a vibrant sense of place,” says USAO President John Feaver. “The project also enhances USAO’s mission as the state’s public liberal arts college in providing the public a thorough education preparing and enriching students for meaningful, purposeful lives.”