Lack of maintenance fuels ambivalence for Pedestrian statue
Alex Phillips • The Daily Beacon
Alahnah Ligon Contributor
In 2009, artist Alice Aycock submitted a 25-foot tall, $250,000 sculpture to UT. Originally named “A Startling Whirlwind of Opportunity,” the structure is now known
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simply as the sculpture on Ped Walkway. UT alumni couple Wilton D. “Chick” Hill, a graduate in engineering, and his wife Andi Hill, a graduate in art history, commissioned the sculpture as a donation to the university. In total, the project’s commission included funds up to $300,000. The Hills utilized funds to implement a
process which evaluated the 220 international artists who applied for the commission to design an art piece for the walkway in 2005. Jason Brown, associate professor of sculpture, participated largely in approving the piece’s design, recalling the lengthy year spent reviewing details and design options. “We narrowed it down to a list of 20 that
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the family then looked at and narrowed down to a smaller group,” Brown said. After the selection was narrowed down by Brown and a committee of students, faculty, staff, administrators and members of the local arts community, the Hills then proposed the final four artists. See STATUE on Page 3
Friday, October 9, 2015