Why Public Art?

Exploring the the campus as a symbol and site of place-making as well as how public art contributes to these efforts.

Image: The Four Elements, 2003, a four-panel terracotta sculpture by artist Steve Gardner at the University of Washington, Tacoma

This project explores the role of public art at public higher education institutions, using the Washington State Art Collection as a place of entry. Specifically, it considers public art as contributing to the place-making efforts of colleges and universities. Paulsen (2010) describes place-making as "generally refer[ing] to the processes by which a space is made useful and meaningful. This may include manipulations of the physical landscape, including land development and building construction, or the attachment of meanings or sentiments to places through shared understandings ... The degree to which these meanings persist over time reflects another element of placemaking, the struggle to associate particular memories or identities with a place" (Paulsen, 2010, p. 600-601). In advocating for place-making at community colleges, Knight (2016) speaks to its ability to "strengthen the connection between people and the places they stay" (p. 8). Public art can therefore be understood as a strategy through which higher education institutions build enduring identities and connections among their students, staff, faculty, and alumni, as well as with the public.

Campus Landscapes and Architecture

Kiefer (2006) describes the college and university campus as "a place where every building, every landscape, every object has meaning" (p. 17). This intentionality can be traced to the colonial colleges of the United States, which sought to emulate the character of prominent English universities through their architecture and design. This influence is visible in the insular, secluded design of campuses as well as the prominence of certain architectural styles, such as "Red brick Georgian buildings with slate roofs, white trim and mullioned windows, clustered around a green,” (Thelin, 2011, p. 1) as well as Collegiate Gothic, a medieval-inspired style, which emerged in the mid-1800s. The Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington, pictured below, is one of many examples of the Collegiate Gothic style.

While most early institutions lacked the funds necessary to fully recreate the "Great Quandrangle" (Boase, 1955, p. 155) that characterized Oxbridge and Cambridge, their investments were still substantial: most institutions stood out from any comparable construction of the colonial era (Thelin, 2011). As the U.S. higher education system expanded in late-1800s, many institutions "were busy trying to prove to themselves and to the world at large that they were universities" (Patton, 1967, p. 1). This struggle around establishing credibility, reputation, and prestige would continue into the early-mid 20th Century, with many institutions following Collegiate Gothic or Colonial Revivalism models in order to evoke qualities of heritage, historical significance, and academic prestige (Patton, 1967; Thelin, 2011).

Black and white photo of Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington

"From an architectural viewpoint, the campus has been described as a "classic sanctuary of learning" arranged in a "sequence of outdoor spaces"; as a series of "living rooms," an academic mall or residential, pedestrian village related to rocks, trees, water, and sky" (Clark-Langager, 2002, p. 9)

In the quote above, Sarah Clark-Langager describes the intentional relationship of the Western Washington University campus with its natural environment (pictured to the right). This design emphasis is not unique; dedicated green space is a prominent, central feature of many American college campuses, dating back to the colonial era. At the University of Oklahoma, Gumprecht (2007) describes there being "a deep heritage in Norman and other college towns to the belief that a college campus should be green and wooded. It says much about the value placed on campus green spaces that trees were planted on the University of Oklahoma grounds even before the university hired a single faculty member or began constructing its first building" (p. 74).

At the early hilltop colleges in New England, expansive green spaces contriuted to the seclusion of campus, meant to isolate undergraduate students from the “negative influences of cities” in order to “build character and spiritual values" (Diner, 2017, p. 3). At urban institutions, the campus green functioned as “a signature central open space that disrupts the dense city fabric” (Bowman, 2011, p. 21). While the porosity of urban campuses captured a degree of “inward and outward character" inviting interaction between the campus and the community (Bowman, 2011, p.23).

Aerial photo of the Western Washington campus.

Campus as a Symbol

"Though I love art, it has taken me over ten years to understand why this public university should even have a collection of it. I am a slow learner, but I think I have finally figured it out. Objects become historical objects the minute they appear on campus and thus work as symbols of the history of thought. What makes each work in the collection important to our mission is its usefulness in maintaining and developing the campus symbolically. The university is not just a place of learning; it is an important cultural symbol and we have a responsibility to maintain that function"

-Kurt Kiefer, former Campus Arts Administrator, University of Washington, 2006, p. 19

The architecture and design of college and university campuses serves as a symbol "for the college, the town, and, in the case of public institutions, the state" (Gumprecht, 2007, p. 103). This symbolism is equally tied to what Bowen (1977) describes as the "contemporary ethos of higher education…[including] excellence in the arts and literature" (p. 267-269) as it is to "the university's branding strategy" (Kiefer, 2006, p. 17). Public art on campus contributes to "the look and feel of a campus" (Walljasper, 2008, para. 5) in both aspects: aesthetically enhancing the physical environment while simultaneously serving as a creative, historical, and artistic resource for students, faculty, and staff. These dual purposes are highlighted in a recent Texas Tribune article on the percent for art program at Texas Tech, the University of Houston and Texas State University. In the article, a contributing artist recognized the arts program for "ensur[ing] that we don’t have a postwar East German-type sterile, unappealing construction that people don’t want to be around,” while a campus arts administrator described the program as "providing a primary resource to our faculty and students about these major artistic trends in recent art history" (Hamilton, 2013). Public art is one way that institution's create unique meaning for their campus. Investments in campus art extend a history of strategic attention to campus design and landscape for the overlapping purposes of 1) cultivating an institution's reputation and legitimacy, 2) drawing in competitive pools of students and faculty, and 3) encouraging students "to develop a wider curiosity ... to continue to put ideas and experiences together in new ways" (Clark-Langager, 2002, p. 9).

"You know you're a wildcat if you ...
26) Viewed the music building’s impressive glass and metal sculpture, the Octaves of Light, and wondered if it would fit in your apartment.
40) Had your picture taken in front of the big bronze Wildcat statue in front of the [Student Union and Recreation Center].

109) Admired the colorful Tsungani Totem pole in the Brooks Library. Installed in 1999, it was made by Tsungani (Fearon Smith Jr.), chief of the Wiummasgum Clan of the House of Lelooska and the House of Sewide."

- Central Connections Magazine, Central Washington University

Artists as Alumni

Building reputation and community through artist selection.

Beyond creating an aesthetically inviting environment for individuals to study, work, and live in, the process of building community and connection is also central to place-making. This aspect of place-making is visible in the structure of Washington's Art in Public Places program. As an example, many of the artists who have created pieces for Washington's public colleges and universities have attended and/or graduated from a public postsecondary institution in the state. The visualization below shows the number of artists who have attended colleges and universities in the state of Washington. Of the 455 artists who are represented in the dataset, roughly 35% (159) have attended a higher education institution (public or private) in Washington (50% had not attended a Washington college or university; 15% did not have their educational background clearly listed). Of these 159 artists, 96 (~60%) attended the University of Washington as a student. As the flagship state institution and largest in the state system, the University of Washington's significant alumni presence in the collection may represent another way institutions consider reputation, identity, and brand in the curation of campus artwork.

Photography of Octaves of Light, 2005, Artist: John Rogers