Title: Rabbit Hill
Artist: Deborah Masuoka
Materials: Bronze
Size: 3 sculptures, each 51 x 42 x 15 inches and 150 lbs
Date: 2005
Made Possible by: Funding through Art in State Buildings
About the Work of Art: “Omaha artist, Deborah Masuoka explores the duality of rabbits as
cuddly creatures compared to garden predators with her instillation, Rabbit Hill, at the Reiman
Gardens. Rabbits are usually seen as timid prey, but Masuoka has empowered their image with
lard 150 pound bronze statues. The contradiction of predator and prey is represented in two
distinct sides of the face. One side appears harsh while the other remains welcoming. The
unusual Patina treatment of bronze also reflects the organic colors and shapes found in the
arboretum of Reiman Gardens. To achieve this aesthetic, the sculptures were scraped, incised,
and burnished with a mixture of black copper oxide and CMC gum. In addition, they were
rubbed with steel wool, then terra sigillatas colored with commercial stains. After being fired for
six days, the sculptures emerged with stone-like colors including, cobalt, blue, green, rust, burnt
orange and yellow. The rabbit heads become neither a warm fuzzy critter nor garden annoyance,
but are transformed into iconic models that seem oddly appropriate in their chosen environment.”
Artist’s Statement: “Over the past 12 years I have been working principally with the rabbit
image or more specifically the rabbit head. By simplifying the rabbit image to just its head, I am
able to explore the maximum amount of meanings within a minimum amount of information
given to the viewer. The head alone merely suggests to the viewer that there is something more
than what is visible. The enlarged scale of each sculpture creates an ironic twist, by taking the
typical prey (rabbit) and transforming it into the predator. The rabbit then becomes the
intimidator, which opens up the opportunity for dialogue concerning the preconceived ideas of
what certain images represent.
Once explored the sculptures embrace deeper issues such as vulnerability, security,
intimidation and protection. Visually, each sculpture has two distinct sides and at times appears
to be somewhat contradictory. The parades created by this type of relationship defines each issue
separately but at the same time cohesively inhabits a single entity.
Recently, I’ve explored tree images, which has broadened by visual vocabulary. I am
interested in meanings that are associated with the images of trees. For example, in the sculpture
Tree of Life, a bird head is perched high on top of a nine foot tree with changes the entire
perspective in which the viewer discovers the bird head. The sculpture then turns the table; the
viewer becomes the viewed, as the bird head peers downward from its sanctum next. The tree
image becomes a foundation, which exemplifies protection and stability.”
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Title: Joy II (?)
Artist: Christian Petersen
Material: Bronze
Casting Date: 2000
Size: 29”high, 23.5” diameter
Made Possible by: Iowa Art in State Buildings Program
About the Work of Art: “A chain of children dance and play around the periphery, decorating
this bronze drinking fountain cast by J. A. M. Studios in Blaine, Minnesota. Created in 1938,
Petersen placed his youngest daughter, Mary, as a curly headed, playful, two-year-old, dancing
among the other children. This sculpture was made using a bas relief technique, which results in
a raised surface decoration.”
About the Artist: “Christian Petersen (American 1885-1961) practiced his art during a
transitional stage in American sculpture when styles moved from heroic to realistic. He
immigrated to America from Denmark with his family in 1894, and eventually made his way to
Chicago in 1929. It was there that he married his second wife, Charlotte Garvey, in 1931, and
soon after was invited to join the Iowa Public Works of Art Project under the direction of Grant
Wood in Iowa City. In 1934, Iowa State University President Raymond Hughes offered Petersen
a one-semester residency to create the fountain and bas-reliefs in the Dairy Industry Building
courtyard. One semester turned into 21 years, and from 1934 to 1955, Petersen served as Iowa
State’s sculptor-in-residence. For $25 per week, Petersen taught students and sculpted in his
studio in the Veterinary Quadrangle, now Lagomarcino Hall. Petersen created 12 major public
art sculptures on the Iowa State campus, over 300 studio sculptures and hundreds of drawings
and sketches. Petersen found his inspiration for the men, women and children that surrounded
him. Petersen enjoyed the company of children and often sculpted their actions and personalities
in terra cotta and stone.”
The Dedication Ceremony: “On June 8. 2001, University Museums staff members along with
Curators Associates, Iowa State Alumni from the Class of 1951, and the College of Family and
Consumer Sciences dedicated the Joy fountain. Remarks were given by Dean Carol Meeks of
Family and Consumer Sciences; Lynette Pohlman, University Museums Director; Carol Grant,
Curators Associate; Beverly Madden, Curator Associate; and ISI President designate Gregory
Geoffrey. Beverly Madden told the story of how she volunteered to search through the third floor
storage room of the WOI building, for the plaster mold of Joy:
“I literally stepped over models of fallen soldiers to get to the fountain. I was struck by
the artist’s distress with war and its causalities… and there, in stark contrast, was a symbol of
hope for the future—children playing, and so eloquently portrayed on the children’s fountain I
was seeking….”
About the Fountain: “This fountain was originally proposed by Petersen to be a drinking
fountain at Brookside Park, but the fountain was never bronzed. The fountain was located in
Petersen’s studio throughout his career at Iowa State; but after his death, and after it failed to be
sold in a 1964 public sale of his sculpture, the fountain was place in storage at the WOI building.
In the 1980s, Beverly Madden helped the College of Family and Consumer Sciences locate and
purchase the plaster fountain from Petersen’s daughter, Mary. In 199, the crate was opened and
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the decision was made to cast the plaster in bronze for the new Palmer Human Development and
Family Studies building.
The plaster mold was badly damaged over the years; the top portion was broken into two
pieces and left unprepared. During a visit to Iowa State to conserve several other Petersen
sculptors, conservator Francis Miller, from Conservation Technical Associates, repaired the
sculpture in preparation for bronze casting. In May of 2000 two separate bronze fountains were
cast at J.A.M. Studios in Blaine, Minnesota to be placed in two locations on the Iowa State
University campus. This fountain near the Palmer HDFS playground functions as a drinking
fountain, while the other will be installed at Reiman Gardens at a later date as a decorative
fountain.”
* The Iowa Art in State Buildings Program was enacted by the General Assembly of the State of
Iowa (Chapter 304A, code 1979. section8-14) requires that one-half of one percent of the total
cost of state construction projects be used for the inclusion of fine arts in state building projects
in cooperation with the Iowa Arts Council. At Iowa State University, the Art in State Buildings
Program is administered by University Museums.
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Title: Totems
Artist: Ted Sitting Crow Garner
Material: Carved steel
Date: 1979
Made Possible By: Gift of Dr. Helen Schuster(sp?), professor of anthropology at Iowa State
University, 1976-1990
About the Work of Art: This sculpture is a tribute to totem poles of the Northwest Coast
Culture. The stylized archetypal animal figures are a bear, beaver, and raven.
Artist’s Statement: “The piece is intended to be an updated version of a totem pole, or more
correctly, a study done in a new material after totem poles as an homage. It incorporates three
stylized animal figures, each cut into one plane of the twisted (in a fire, I believe) I-beam. The
flanges, or “top” and “bottom” on a capital “I” are respectively a bear (with the two lobes at the
top) and a beaver (with the cross-hatched welding on his tail down near the base). The web, or
stem of the “I,” is a bird, specifically a raven.”
Other statement:
“This piece is a tribute to totem poles of the Northwest Coast, done in a different material. It
shows three animal figures, a bear, a beaver, and a raven, in cutout formlines.”
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Title: Shep
Artist: Nina Ward
Materials: bronze and limestone
Size: 25 x 14 x 30 inches
Date: 1999
Made possible by: Iowa Art in State Buildings Program for Reiman Gardens, and in memory of
Jamie Joy Helmer
About the Work of Art: “Shep, as his nametag states, is a farm dog that has been placed at the
entrance of the Children’s Garden at Reiman Gardens. With a happy looking face and his right
paw extended outwards, Shep greets children and adult visitors to the garden with a warm
welcome. Although Shep is cast in bronze, his thick fur-like body encourages children to shake
hands, embrace his neck and pat him on the back.
Artist Nina Ward’s first plan for the design of Shep was to make several drawings of her
own dog. After Ward had a design that she liked, she created several small models, called
maquettes, from wet clay. These small models allowed Ward to adjust the proportions and
gestures of Shep to the exact position that she wanted. After small models were made, Ward
moved on to a full size model of Shep with was fired and is now part of the University Museums
Permanent Collection. Shep was finally shipped to the Max-Cast foundry in Kalona, Iowa where
Shep was cast in bronze, using a sand mold method of casting.”
About the Artist: “Born in New York City, Nina de Creeft Ward grew up in Santa Barbara and
Ojai, California. She moved to Iowa in 1975 to reside in Cedar Falls, where she taught art at the
University of Northern Iowa for nine years. Her father was the New York sculptor Jose de
Creeft, and her mother, Santa Barbara sculptor Alice de Creeft, created bronze sculpture portrait
commissions of horses and dogs for a number of years.
Nina Ward has loved animals from an early age, since her mother kept goats and a
variety of other animals and her brother had a succession of riding horses. She was twelve when
she bought her first horse, Red, out of a field in Goleta, California for twenty dollars. This horse
predisposed her to favor draft horses, which she sketched at the Los Angeles County Fair in
Pomona, California in her twenties when she was attending Scripps College. Once in Iowa, she
drew horses at the Cattle Congress in Waterloo, the Britt Horse Fair, and at the Iowa State Fair.
Study drawings done from life serve as reference material for both her printmaking and
sculpture.
Ward as a 1956 Bachelors of Art degree from Scripps College, and a 1964 Masters of
Fine Art degree from the Claremont Graduate School, and has done additional study at the
Massachusetts College of Art. Her solo exhibitions have been held in the Philippines, California,
Maryland, Iowa, Chicago, and Kansas City. She is now a full-time artist and carves in wood and
stone, works in wax for bronzes, and creates soft sculpture, etchings, woodcuts, and monoprints.
Her clays sculptures include a variety of different animals which are sold an in a number of
galleries and shops throughout the United States. Biographical information provided by the Iowa
State University Library.”
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Title: Dikhotomia, Pediment
Artist: Tom Stancliffe
Material: Dikhotomia- welded bronze
Pediment- welded bronze and cedar
Size: variable
Date: 1995
Made Possible by: Dikhotomia- *Iowa Art in State Buildings Program
Pediment- Gift of Julie and Jon Ellis, class of 1985
Collection: Art on Campus Collection, University Museums, Iowa State University
About the Work of Art: “Dikhotomia: Both sculptural works are welded bronze and set on
stone columns, Work “A” has a round bronze base that extends to form rising “flame or leaves”
of grass. Work “B” also has a round base extended with vertical bars of bronze held together by
three bronze bands placed at equal distance; the top is stylized bronze and overall the piece is
cylindrical. Dikhotomia represents a dialogue between the horticulture and agriculture.”
“Pediment: A wood “pagoda style” canopy extends across the entry to the rose garden. Side
support columns are 8’ and are made of stone. A cedar wood trellis and bronze roses form the
mid section of the canopy. The bronze finial is a 2’ high vertical bronze rod with bronze ball
midway up. Pediment references the architecture and landscape of the rural Midwest. The
endless grid of our roads and fields as laid out on the Jeffersonian grid plan become a trellis, with
a rose added to denote the entrance into the rose garden/”
About the Artist: 1988-present Associate Professor, Department of the Arts, University of
Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa State University
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Title: Garden Campanile
Artist:
Material: Steel
Size: 50’ tall
Date: 1995
Made Possible by:
About the Work of Art:
Underneath campanile:
“Come Ye Apart and Rest Awhile”
Mark 6:31
Let these gardens be a special place for students to come and quiet their minds, collect
their thoughts and find their futures.
Let this place also serve as a tribute to the teachers who nurture new seedlings each year
and bring students’ budding talents to full bloom- proving again that education bears living seeds
that beautify the world.
Roy and Bobbi Reiman
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