Christine Lambrakis, lambrakis@asu.edu
(480) 965-9689
February 2, 2004

Public art gets lift

Once used as a ceremonial dunking spot for new freshmen in the 1950s, the “Kachina Fountain” in front of Old Main had seen better days, until recently. Restoration on the fountain began last summer and was completed this past fall.

The fountain was the last art piece in a series of public art restoration projects completed in 2003. Prior to the restoration projects, Facilities Management identified that several pieces of art needed to be restored due to weather damage or neglect. The problem — no one university department owned the public art on campus.

Pieces experienced fading, blistering, cracking and, in one case, theft,” says Dianne Cripe, director of the Office of Public Art, which was created in 2001 and resides in the Katherine K. Herberger College of Fine Arts.

When she first took the position, she was charged with cataloging all the public art on campus and identifying pieces needing to be restored.

“Of the 16 pieces of public art on campus at the time, I identified four in need of immediate attention,” says Cripe. “I worked with the artists to make sure that they were aware of the restorations being made. Many of them even helped extensively to restore their works of art.”

“Celebration,” located between Farmer and Payne Education Buildings on Tyler and Forest malls and installed by Jerry Peart in 1984 to mark ASU’s centennial, was the first piece on the list. It needed a paint job, so he provided a paint by number sketch for the industrial painter who did the work.

“Southwest Pieta,” crafted by Luis Jimenez and installed on campus in 1987 near the Nelson Fine Arts Center, involved cleaning and stripping the old topcoat, touching up paint spots and recoating.

“Fragment,” a metal sculpture installed by J. P. Rico Eastman in 1985 near the Moeur Building, had rust damage caused by water and leaves. Eastman had to prepare new sheet metal in his studio located in Santa Fe, N.M., for the repair.

The last piece in the series, the “Kachina Fountain” was probably one of the more involved restorations as it required a team of experts, according to Cripe.

An ASU landmark for nearly 100 years, the fountain was made by Emry Kopta who was commissioned in 1933 as part of a New Deal art program to update the original fountain, which was made primarily of river rock. The fountain reflects Kopta’s experience living on a Hopi mesa in Arizona and incorporates many symbolic elements of the Hopi culture.

Kopta’s original design for the fountain included a six-foot bronze of a Hopi flute player, which was to sit on top of the pedestal. Because bronze was too expensive in the ‘30s, that sculpture was never completed, until 2002 when a cast was made and installed in the Music Building courtyard.

“In place of the flute player, Kopta made a substitute piece, in the shape of sun god faces with ears of corn on top of that, for the pedestal,” says Cripe. “Unfortunately, at some point that piece was stolen and was not replicated during the restoration.”

With the $75,000 worth of restorations done and the latest edition of public art, the Lattie F. Coor Hall, completed, it leaves more time to consider future art projects. Next on the list is the new Parking Structure 7. A seating area/community area is being discussed as a potential opportunity for landscape and public art.

“The public art on campus ranges from functional to beautiful,” says Cripe, “and it provides a creative environment for the ASU community to work and learn in.”

Cripe encourages everyone to visit the public art Web site at (http://herbergercollege.asu.edu/public_art/public_art.html) or contact her at (480) 965-0951 or (dianne.cripe@asu.edu) for a free brochure and information.

Lambrakis, with Media Relations & Public Information, can be reached at (480) 965-9689

This article appeared in the January 30 , 2004 issue of ASU Insight.