Art on Campus

5. Spencer Finch,&nbsp;East Meets West, 2014

Thank you for exploring Art on Campus. Public art invites us to tune in to our surroundings, heightening awareness of how we think, feel, and act in the spaces we move through. These artworks engage our relationships to our environment and each other, provide spaces for social gathering, and invite moments of quiet contemplation. To keep exploring, visit the <a href="https://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Museum website</a> and check out more of our digital resources.

Dan Graham (American, b. 1942),&nbsp;Bisected Circle, 2019. Two-way mirror glass and stainless steel, 92 1/2 x 276". Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. University purchase, Art on Campus fund, 2019. Photo by Joshua White / JWPictures.com.

How does the scale of this work shape your encounter with it?&nbsp;

Audio tour: <a href="tel:3145589580" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="sm-text-color-themeColor1">314.558.9580</a>, 21#

<a href="https://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/collection/explore/artwork/15009" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Weather Field No. 2</a> by Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle is composed of 49 telescoping stainless steel poles with alternating heights, each supporting a weather vane and anemometer. The tight alignment of the poles in a grid alters the weather instruments’ standard function of measuring wind direction and speed, as their proximity generates a microclimate of turbulence and vortices caused by individual instruments reacting to one another. Weather Field No. 2 may be seen as a metaphor for the ways in which we react to our environments and the subtle effects we have on each other.

<a href="https://youtu.be/KhEGhXKXJc8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Watch the installation of Ainsa I and hear Jaume Plensa speak about this work. </a>

Audio tour: <a href="tel:3145589580" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="sm-text-color-themeColor1">314.558.9580</a>, 26#&nbsp;

Katharina Grosse (German, b. 1961),&nbsp;Untitled, 2016. Acrylic paint on wallboard, wood veneer, and steel, 480 x 960 x 67". Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. University purchase, Art on Campus fund, Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center, 2016.

What ways can you imagine interacting with these forms?

4. Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle,&nbsp;Weather Field No. 2, 2018

<a href="https://youtu.be/w7UggkrdNaM" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Watch Ann Hamilton speak about the creation of O N E E V E R Y O N E · St. Louis.</a>

1. Dan Graham, Bisected Circle, 2019

Move around this sculpture to view it from all sides. Do you recognize any letters or words?

Explore public art on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis

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Ayşe Erkmen (Turkish, b. 1949),&nbsp;Places, 2015. Stainless steel reinforced concrete with glass mosaic tile, dimensions variable. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. University purchase, Art on Campus fund, Samuel Cupples Hall II and Scott Rudolph Hall, 2015. Photos by Whitney Curtis.

“Public art is an important element of cultural equity in making artworks available and accessible to everyone. Perhaps the most important aspect of encountering one of these works, particularly on a university campus, is that first moment of critical engagement when someone asks, ‘What is this?’ and ‘What is it doing here?’ It is this initial inquiry that can lead to a deeper and even life-long relationship with art, one that a university art museum is well suited to facilitate.” – Leslie Markle, curator for public art&nbsp;at the Kemper Art Museum

3. Ayşe Erkmen, Places, 2015

South 40 Swamp between College Hall and Helen F. Umrath House

Bauer Hall

All artworks are copyright the artist or the artist’s estate unless otherwise specified. Images on this tour are for educational purposes only and are not licensed for commercial applications of any kind.

Florence Steinberg Weil Sculpture Garden

<a href="https://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/collection/explore/artwork/13183" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ainsa I</a> by Jaume Plensa is located outside the south entrance to the atrium of Bauer Hall. Composed of a filigree of stainless steel characters from nine different languages, the large-scale seated human figure embodies the diversity of Olin Business School and the University at large. The indistinct and faceless form of the figure also invites open-ended identification on the part of the viewer, while the symbols from various writing systems spur moments of recognition and discovery. Ainsa I transforms the experience of its site, both offering a transition between human and architectural scales and calling attention to the communal nature of the building plaza.

This sculpture is a commission by Washington University alumnus Tom Friedman. The artwork’s title alludes to the 1954 horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon while simultaneously paying homage to the historical nickname of the grassy field where it is located. <a href="https://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/collection/explore/artwork/14333" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Swamp Creature Friends</a> combines the artist’s interest in networked systems with his exploration of the human figure, which stems in part from his history of self-portraiture dating back to the early 1990s when he began making abstract figurative sculptures of himself using materials such as Styrofoam, wood, and even sugar cubes. The interwoven nature of Swamp Creature Friends combined with its proximity to residence halls can be seen as a metaphor for the network of social relationships that are part of the college experience.

Snap a selfie or gather for a group picture with Swamp Creature Friends! Share your photo on social media and tag us @kemperartmuseum.

Audio tour: <a href="tel:3145589580" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="sm-text-color-themeColor1">314.558.9580</a>, 24#&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/collection/explore/artwork/14057" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">O N E&nbsp;E&nbsp;V E R Y O N E&nbsp;·&nbsp;St. Louis</a>&nbsp;was developed by Ann Hamilton in collaboration with the Brown School of Social Work. During residencies in spring 2015, Hamilton photographed nearly 300 volunteers from the Brown School community and three partner organizations: US Vets, Better Family Life, and the Community Action Agency of St. Louis County. Hamilton positioned herself and the camera on one side of a semitransparent membrane and used her voice to guide and pose the sitters on the other side. For Hamilton, this collaborative exchange between artist and subject reflects the practice of social work, which aims to foster recognition and empathy. A selection of 33 of these portraits translated into porcelain enamel panels is installed along the curved interior walls of the second and third floors of Hillman Hall, which bracket the Clark Fox Forum and the building’s central gathering area.

For <a href="https://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/collection/explore/artwork/13205" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">East Meets West</a>, Spencer Finch traveled to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, where he used a colorimeter––a device that measures the average color and temperature of light that exists naturally in a specific place and time––to calculate the color of the light on the oceans. He also made watercolors based on his personal observations of the colors and shapes of waves. The resulting light boxes, individually titled Atlantic and Pacific, produce an aesthetic experience of the fleeting, temporal nature of the observed world. The work is positioned so that the viewer faces in the direction of the respective ocean while looking at each image. Installed in Umrath Hall, home to a variety of interdisciplinary humanities programs, East Meets West evokes the efforts of the humanities and scientific inquiry to comprehend the outside world.

Image how this kinetic artwork would react in different environments such as the beach, the mountains, or the desert.

7. Katharina Grosse, Untitled, 2016

How does this artwork blend in with and stand out from its surroundings?

Thomas and Jennifer Hillman Hall

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Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle (American, b. Spain, 1961).&nbsp;Weather Field No. 2, 2018. 49 stainless steel poles, weather vanes, and anemometers, 20' 1 7/8" x 13' 9" x 23' 7 1/2" overall. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. University purchase, Art on Campus fund, 2018.

2. Ann Hamilton, O&nbsp;N&nbsp;E&nbsp;E&nbsp;V&nbsp;E&nbsp;R&nbsp;Y&nbsp;O&nbsp;N&nbsp;E&nbsp;· St. Louis, 2015

Walk around and through the artwork to view it from all sides. Look into the curved glass. What do you see?

Through the Art on Campus program at Washington University in St. Louis, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum is building a collection of public artworks by nationally and internationally recognized artists. This tour begins in the Florence Steinberg Weil Sculpture Garden and moves across the Danforth Campus to the South 40. Scroll to move through the tour in sequence or click a point on the map to skip directly to that stop. Expand images to take a closer look at the artworks. Additional information about each artwork in this tour is provided through an accompanying audio guide that can be accessed by dialing the phone number and extension indicated at each stop.

View artworks from the second floor landings of the stairways accessible from the building’s central arch. What similarities and differences do you notice between the installations?

Adjacent to Samuel Cupples Hall II

Karl D. Umrath Hall

Katharina Grosse fuses painting and architecture in this <a href="https://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/collection/explore/artwork/14332" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">dramatic installation</a> covering the Sumers Recreation Center’s interior entrance wall. The painting transgresses the architectural boundaries of the space, moving diagonally over multiple surfaces and onto adjoining walls. Densely layered primary and secondary colors, drips, and large areas of overspray reveal the gestural marks of the artist’s spray-gun process and convey a sense of dynamic movement. Situated within the University’s Athletic Complex, this work’s vibrant and active presence generates an immersive experience that may intensify awareness of both the environment and one’s own body while passing through the multistoried space.

8. Tom Friedman, Swamp Creature Friends, 2016

This StoryMap was created by Olivia Mendelson, assistant educator at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum. Please direct comments or questions about this resource to mendelson.olivia@wustl.edu.

Spencer Finch (American, b. 1962),&nbsp;East Meets West, 2014. Two light boxes with Fujitrans prints and Plexiglas, 50 x 78 x 4" each. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. University purchase, Art on Campus fund, Karl D. Umrath Hall, 2014.

Audio tour: <a href="tel:3145589580" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="sm-text-color-themeColor1">314.558.9580</a>, 19#&nbsp;

Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center

<a href="https://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/collection/explore/artwork/13871" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Places</a> by Ayşe Erkmen consists of nine large-scale concrete forms covered with blue, green, and yellow mosaic tiles. The forms are arranged in a half circle on the lawn outside of Cupples Hall II; each one consists of multiple surfaces that can be used to sit on, sleep on, lean on, read on, or just to look at. The intent is to make, according to the artist, an “aesthetic and functional work” for the site, which experiences significant pedestrian circulation of students, faculty, and visitors to campus. Located at the intersection of two walking paths, these geometric sculptures create a place of social gathering.

<a href="https://youtu.be/wx7mJNHXEV8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Watch Katharina Grosse as she discusses her 2016 commission for the Sumers Recreation Center.</a>

Established in 2010, Art on Campus is administered by the Sam Fox School of Design &amp; Visual Arts through the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum. It is funded by a Washington University policy that sets aside one percent of eligible capital projects and renovations on the Danforth Campus for the&nbsp;purchase and commission of public art. A campus-wide committee guides the program and is charged with identifying locations, selecting artists, and approving proposals. The Kemper Art Museum’s Director and Chief Curator and the University Architect cochair the committee to ensure that the University’s short- and long-term plans for capital projects are incorporated into the planning for art installations and that artworks meet museum standards for aesthetic distinction and historical significance.&nbsp;Find out more with the <a href="https://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/files/AOC%20brochure%20FINAL.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Art on Campus Brochure</a>.

<a href="https://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/collection/explore/artwork/15066" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bisected Circle</a> by Dan Graham blurs distinctions between architecture and sculpture. The structure allows viewers to see themselves, each other, and their surroundings reflected in the semitransparent walls of the pavilion, extending the artist’s investigation into how our awareness of the world is contingent upon our relation to and interaction with others. Much like a funhouse mirror, the distorted reflections offer the opportunity to alter how we view ourselves and our surroundings.

Take a moment to be still and notice your surroundings as you look at this artwork. Do you hear the wind rustling or feel the air on your skin?

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Millstone Plaza

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Let your eyes wander across the panels. Where do these images appear in focus and where do they fade away?

What do you think about the title of this project?

Audio tour: <a href="tel:3145589580" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="sm-text-color-themeColor1">314.558.9580</a>, 28#

Tom Friedman (American, b. 1965),&nbsp;Swamp Creature Friends, 2016. Painted steel, 77 x 102 x 23". Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. University purchase, Art on Campus fund, Helen F. Umrath House, 2016.

Jaume Plensa (Spanish, b. 1955),&nbsp;Ainsa I, 2013. Stainless steel and limestone, 126 x 84 5/8 x 149 5/8". Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. University purchase, Art on Campus fund, Olin Business School, 2013. Photo by Stan Strembicki.

6. Jaume Plensa,&nbsp;Ainsa I, 2013

Ann Hamilton (American, b. 1956), detail from&nbsp;O N E E V E R Y O N E · St. Louis, 2015. Photomechanical prints in porcelain enamel on steel panels, 58 x 45 x 1" each. Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis. University purchase, Art on Campus fund, Thomas and Jennifer Hillman Hall, 2015.

What associations does this artwork bring to mind?

Audio tour: <a href="tel:3145589580" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="sm-text-color-themeColor1">314.558.9580</a>, 20#

What feeling does this work convey to you? Does getting up close or looking from a distance change your impression?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;