1) Walter A. Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center-Lobby

Deborah Butterfield
American; b. 1949, San Diego, California
B. A. 1971, M.F.A., 1973; Department of Art, UC Davis
Untitled (horse), 1992
welded steel with found color
Richard L. Nelson Gallery & The Fine Arts Collection; Commissioned by the Campus Art in Public Places Work Group; Purchased with funds provided by the Cal Aggie Alumni and Visitors Center Campaign. 92.67.20S

World-renowned for her found-material horses, Butterfield created this sculpture for placement in the newly completed Buehler Center. She comments: "I wanted to create a piece that would humanize the space, that would give it a scale that was more recognizable, a more intimate feeling. The building needed a piece that was larger than life."

Recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships and a Guggenheim Fellowship, Butterfield has exhibited internationally. Suzanne Muchnic, an art critic for the Los Angeles Times comments: "She captures the essence of living, breathing form in life-size horse sculptures that appear out of wired-together piles of rubble ... and Butterfield invests the animals with an artless grace that makes it look as if they just happened."

 

2) Martin Luther King Jr. Hall-Lobby

Lisa Reinertson
American; b. 1955, Washington D.C.
M.F.A., 1984; Department of Art, UC Davis
Martin Luther King, Jr., 1987
ceramic
Commissioned by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Committee, School of Law

Installed in the law school building bearing his name, this work depicts Dr. King wearing a robe with a narrative relief around the base. The imagery in the robe illustrates the history of the civil rights movement and includes images of social injustice. As the images spiral upward, the imagery becomes more realistic, culminating in a portrait of Dr. King's face.

 

3) Between Martin Luther King Jr. Hall and Mrak Hall Drive

Robert Arneson
American, 1930 - 1992
Professor; Department of Art, UC Davis, 1962 - 1991
See No Evil/Hear No Evil from The Egghead Series, 1991-92
acrylic on bronze
Richard L. Nelson Gallery & The Fine Arts Collection; Commissioned by the Campus Art in Public Places Work Group with private funds 94.2.20S

Commissioned from the artist in 1989, this painted bronze work is the one in a series placed at 5 sites on the UC Davis campus [See also #4 Eye on Mrak, #9 Stargazer, #10 Bookhead and #12 Yin & Yang below] Arneson chose to base the commission on the "egghead" theme, the slang label denoting intellectuals in general and academics in particular. These sculptures express many of the qualities for which the artist gained notoriety and international acclaim. They are humorous, scatological and autobiographical. They hopefully make us laugh at ourselves and even reflect on ourselves and our roles and pursuits in the academic context of place. Collectively, the Eggheads are singular in Arneson's work in that each head is part of a conceptual whole that is woven into the physical life and environment of the campus.

Robert Arneson began teaching ceramics at UC Davis in 1962; subsequently the artist gained international recognition for his sculpture and especially for his role in achieving the acceptance of ceramics as a sculptural medium. His works have been exhibited in numerous national and international exhibitions and are included in major private and museum collections worldwide. Arneson retired from teaching in the Department of Art in June 1991. Before his death in 1992, two of the Egghead works had been installed on campus and Arneson was able to complete the remaining three works in the commission; these Eggheads were installed on campus May, 1994.

 

4) Mrak Hall Mall

Robert Arneson
American, 1930 - 1992
Professor; Department of Art, UC Davis, 1962 - 1991
Eye on Mrak (Fatal Laff) from The Egghead series, 1991-92
acrylic on bronze
Richard L. Nelson Gallery & The Fine Arts Collection; Commissioned by the Campus Art in Public Places Work Group with private funds 94.3.20S

Installed in May, 1994. See #3 above.

 

5) Silo Complex

Steve Gillman
American; b. 1945, Oakland, California
Stone Poem, 1986
granite
Office of Student Affairs in conjunction with the Campus Art in Public Places Work Group

The core group of stones were originally exhibited in the Richard L. Nelson Gallery during April - May 1986. This sculpture was in the artist's Oakland studio, close to the Cypress Freeway, at the time of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Several of the stones were knocked over and broken as a result of the quake and were reincorporated as "benches" on the perimeter of the UC Davis site.

Steve Gillman received his B. F. A. degree at San Francisco State University and his M.F. A. from the University of Oregon. His sculptures have been exhibited at The Oakland Museum, Portland Art Museum and he has received numerous commissions for art in public places projects.

 

6) North of Wellman Hall

Ralph Johnson
American, 1925-1994
Professor; Department of Art, UC Davis, 1957 - 1988
Apollo, 1987-88
bronze with patina, unique cast
Richard L. Nelson Gallery & The Fine Arts Collection, Gift of the artist
Funds for casting provided by the Office of the Chancellor 88.3.20S

This work preserves an early welded metal sculpture by the artist that, from the early 1960s until 1982, stood near the corner of Hutchison Drive and Mrak Hall Mall. Deteriorating from "metal rot", the piece was reworked by the artist in 1987 and this unique cast was made in 1988. Johnson exhibited in one person and group shows in the United States and Europe. In 1978, he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts grant.

Ralph Johnson was one of the early members of the university's art department and became the department's first sculpture instructor. He taught from 1957 until retirement in 1988 and served as department chair from 1981 - 1983.

 

7) East of Wellman Hall

Ted Hirsch
American; b. 1960, London, England
M.F.A., 1993; Department of Art, UC Davis
This Redwood Tree 1935 - 1991, 1992
wood

M.F.A. candidate Ted Hirsch worked with the Grounds Department to obtain permission to carve a sculpture out of this dead redwood tree. The title refers to the years of the trees' life. The artist comments that the work is about resources and their use and various sections depict the relationship of nature and human activities.

 

8) Memorial Union South Courtyard

Kim Anno and Miranda Bergman
The Unfinished Dream, 1991
acrylic mural
Commissioned by the Office of Student Affairs and the Campus Art in Public Places Work Group

In June, 1990 UC Davis Art in Public Places issued a call to artists for a mural competition to "portray UC Davis' transition to a campus of true diversity, reflecting the richness of its many cultures and supporting its growing underrepresented populations." Kim Anno and Miranda Bergman were selected by a committee of students, staff and faculty to paint the mural. The evolution of this mural was a collaboration between Anno and Bergman at every stage, from discussions and research to creating the sketch and painting it. There were several meetings with student groups for input and discussion of the design. The meetings resulted in changes in the sketch and made the designing of the mural a vital and interactive process. In addition, students participated in the painting of the mural.

 

9) Between North Hall and Young Hall

Robert Arneson
American, 1930 - 1992
Professor; Department of Art, UC Davis, 1962 - 1991
Stargazer, from The Egghead series, 1991-92
acrylic on bronze
Richard L. Nelson Gallery & The Fine Arts Collection; Commissioned by the Campus Art in Public Places Work Group with private funds 94.4.20S

Installed in May, 1994. See #3 above.

 

10) Shields Library Plaza

Robert Arneson
American, 1930 - 1992
Professor; Department of Art, UC Davis, 1962 - 1991
Bookhead, from The Egghead series, 1991-92
acrylic on bronze
Richard L. Nelson Gallery & The Fine Arts Collection; Commissioned by the Campus Art in Public Places Work Group with private funds 91.40.20S

First of the Egghead series to be installed on campus in October, 1991. See #3 above.

 

11) West of Art Building

Tio Giambruni
American, 1925 -1971
Professor; Department of Art, UC Davis, 1961 - 1971
Bum, Bum, You've Been Here Before, 1967
cast aluminum and bronze
Richard L. Nelson Gallery & The Fine Arts Collection, Gift of Helen, Kim, and Mark Giambruni 86.33.20S

This work was first exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Art (now the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) in 1967. From 1969 to 1976, the sculpture was on loan to the City of Davis and was installed on the median strip of Russell Boulevard. Bum Bum's title comes from a depression era folk song of a housewife's response to a bum knocking on her door for a handout. The artist liked these songs for the ironic overtones in the lyrics, this particular song ends, "Hallelujah, I'm a bum! Hallelujah, bum again! Hallelujah, give us a handout to revive us again". Tio Giambruni taught in the Department of Art at UC Davis from 1961 until his death at 45 in 1971. He was an instrumental figure in the expansion and integration of sculpture courses in the department's curriculum and in the development of sculpture facilities on the campus.

 

12) Fine Arts Complex-Courtyard

Robert Arneson
American, 1930 - 1992
Professor; Department of Art, UC Davis, 1962 - 1991
Yin & Yang, from The Egghead series, 1991-92
acrylic on bronze
Richard L. Nelson Gallery & The Fine Arts Collection: Commissioned by the Campus Art in Public Places Work Group with private funds 92.66.20S

Second in the series of 5 Egghead works, this sculpture was installed by the artist shortly before his death in 1992. See #3 above.

 

13) University Arboretum-between Putah Creek and Cushing Way

Steve Gillman
American; b. 1945, Oakland, California
Time Line, 1986
white granite
Richard L. Nelson Gallery & The Fine Arts Collection, Purchased with matching funds provided by the Office of the Chancellor and by the Rene and Veronica di Rosa Foundation, Norman O. and Lois J. Jones, Maurine Morse Nelson, the Yolo County Arts Council, Edward M. Nagel and other private donors 87.15.20S

The sculpture was originally commissioned as a site-specific piece in conjunction with an exhibition of the artist's sculptures mounted in the Richard L. Nelson Gallery during April - May 1986. The piece, from conception to completion, was fully integrated with the physical setting and environment as well as with the use and purpose of the area. The title of the piece, Time Line, refers to multi-level relationships of the piece and the site.

 

14)Mrak Hall Mall

Guy Dill
American; b. 1946, Duval County, Florida
Shamash, 1982
pigment in cement
Richard L. Nelson Gallery & The Fine Arts Collection, Gift of the Harry W. and Margaret Anderson Collection 95.43.20S

The monumental pigmented-cement work, enhances and enlivens the tranquil surrounding landscape setting, was executed in 1982. Dill, a noted Southern California artist, has received numerous public sculpture commissions through out the country and his works are found in major corporate and public collections. Shamash, however is one of the few pieces by Dill to be found in Northern California. Installed June, 1996.

 

15)Life Science Addition Stairwell

Roger Berry
American; b. 1950, Chico, California
Portrait of a DNA Sequence, 1998
dichronic glass and steel
Commissioned by the Division of Biological Sciences; purchased with private funds.

This work was commissioned by he Division of Biological Sciences to celebrate the pioneering cellular and molecular research occurring at the recently constructed Life Sciences Addition building. For the scientifically accurate work Berry assigned one pair of colors to each type of DNA base pairs.