The History of Art at Iowa State University

761 Words2 Pages

Have you ever been to Iowa State University and seen all of the magnificent art that is located on campus? Iowa State is home to one of the largest campus public art collections in the United States. There are over 2,000 works of public art (George Washington Carver). The foundation of the contemporary Art on Campus Collection and Program began during the Depression in the 1930s, when Iowa State's President Hughes envisioned that, "The arts would enrich and provide substantial intellectual exploration into our college curricula” (George Washington Carver). Who doesn’t love art? Every day you wake up and experience some sort of artwork; whether it’s a sculpture or just seeing something made so wonderful. Walking across the magnificent campus of Iowa State you see many pieces of art, but the one that stuck out to me was the George Washington Carver Sculpture. When first looking at it you won’t catch all of the small details behind his wonderful work. Once you know all the fine details Christian Petersen did when creating George Washington Carver and why he created it the way he did; you will enjoy it that much more. Knowing information about the artist plays an important role in why some art was created in such an extraordinary way. Artist Christian Petersen practiced his art during a transitional stage in American sculpture when styles moved from heroic to realistic (George Washington Carver). In 1934, Iowa State President Raymond Hughes offered Petersen a one-semester residency to create the fountain and bas-reliefs in the Dairy Industry Building courtyard. Amazingly this one semester job turned into 21 years, and from 1934 to 1955 Petersen served as Iowa State's sculptor-in-residence (George Washington Carver). According t... ... middle of paper ... ...State. Creating a sculpture can last a lifetime if made well like this George Washington Carver sculpture he designed. Artist Christian Petersen put in outstanding work to create a piece of work that not only he enjoys, but others can see and enjoy as well. Every piece of art has a story and that is overlooked most of the time. People seem to look at the art work and that’s just about it. When starting a book do you just look at the cover and not actually read the book? No, because then you are creating a false illusion. The George Washington Carver Sculpture is more than just a silhouette of himself, it emphasizes the vision for the future of agriculture and his passion for science, students and farmers Carver had. I recommend everyone to go check out the outstanding work Christian Petersen put into creating the George Washington Carver sculpture.

Open Document