Ever wonder about those cool sculptures, prints, and other art work you’ve seen around campus? What is it? Who made it? Is that sculpture near the science building a tribute to Walt Disney (Nope! Good guess though! See the end of the post for the answer!)? We’ve got answers to these questions and more on our new printable Public Art map! See a brief Q and A below:
Which artists created the sculpture, prints, and other art work around campus?
Much of the public art on the USF campus is made by world renowned artists like Siebren Versteeg, Janaina Tschäpe, Teresita Fernández, and Alyson Shotz. Other works are created by local artists from the Tampa Bay area. You’ll also find work from USF’s own Graphicstudio on the walls in buildings around campus. On our printable Public Art map, you’ll find the name of the artist, and the name of the art work by location.
How are the art works paid for?
In most cases, the Art in State Buildings Program helped pay for the materials and compensation for the artist’s time and creative energies. In other instances, special donors may have contributed to specific projects. However, all but five of the works on our map were paid for by the Florida program. So many thanks to the State for keeping our campus culturally cutting-edge and beautiful!
Can I walk, climb, or hang on the public art around campus?
No. No. And no. You know better than that. This is generally true in museums and other art spaces. Unless otherwise specified.
So, go ahead and print your copy of our Public Art reference map! Then you can impress your friends with your knowledge of the art that lives among us.
Want More Culture Now?
The website culturenow.org is a cool tool for finding art in public spaces around the US. It works kind of like Google Earth, in that you just click to zoom in or out to various public art locations around the country. You’ll find some information about a few of the pieces on the USF Campus on the site already. Below is information taken off the culturenow.org site about the work featured at the top of this post:
Unspecific Gravity
by Douglas Hollis
Installed on USF Campus, 1998
Unspecific Gravity is a site-specific landscape project consisting of a circular reflecting pool with fountain elements based on the H2O molecule (sample H2O molecule), exposed aggregate pathways that formalize preexisting desire lines, and seating based on the atomic structure of the eleven most common elements. Finishing details include the reintroduction of native Florida grasses to the area adjacent to the pool; and tree uplights in the defined drip-line areas surrounding the twelve existing laurel oaks on the site.
You can learn more about the USF Public Art program on the Institute for Research in Art website. The IRA is comprised of Graphicstudio, USFCAM, and Public Art.
USFCAM 