June 29, 2009
Student-created sculpture to be unveiled June 30th
A new public sculpture based on the community slogan “The Gateway to the Pineries” will
be unveiled in front of The Pineries Bank in Stevens Point during a public event at 1 p.m.
on Tuesday, June 30. The student-created sculpture is the product of the inaugural public
sculpture seminar within the Department of Art and Design at the University of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP).
Located at 3601 Main Street, the work was designed by students enrolled in Art 398-Public
Sculpture, a course offered for the first time this spring. Their instructor, Associate
Lecturer Bill McKee, collaborated on the idea with The Pineries Bank President Paul Adamski.
In return, Adamski and the bank’s board of directors have created an endowment to provide
UWSP art student scholarships.
“We hope this sculpture will emphasize how important the communities we serve are to our
bank,” said Adamski.
The unveiling event will include remarks from The Pineries Bank leadership, UWSP art
students who worked on the project and university administrators in addition to the
formal uncovering of the sculpture (weather permitting). During the remarks, Adamski
will announce the amount of The Pineries Bank art scholarship endowment.
“We are excited about the perpetual scholarships that will be generated for the benefit of
UWSP art students at the unveiling of this project,” Adamski said.
A 12-foot metal and wood sculpture that depicts outstretched wings, “Ascension” was
built with local services and materials of historical content. The design includes
reclaimed hemlock timbers from the floor of the former Lullaby Factory and fieldstones
from the farms of Fran and Dan Zaborowski in Polonia and the Henrietta Hintz farm in
Rosholt. Both of these families have daughters who are officers at the
bank.
Local craftspeople assisted with the work, including Dan Michor and Joe Thorn of Metal
Crafters, Juda Haas of Alchemy Concrete, Jay Goska of Powder Coating Specialists,
engineer Troy Hanson of Merrill, County Concrete, Gimme Shelter Construction, Home
Team Décor and Dennis Bauer Sandblasting.
“The project has given the students important real world experience,” said McKee. “There’s
been a push to make more connections to the community and this is a fine example of how
that can work.” He added that this kind of course could be offered again to place more
sculpture in the Stevens Point area.
“We’re pleased to partner with The Pineries Bank to showcase this ambitious student-created
sculpture in our community,” said Jim Haney, interim dean of the College of Fine Arts and
Communication. “The endowed scholarship fund created through this project will have a
lasting impact for the university by helping talented students with financial need to
pursue an inspiring arts education at UWSP.”
If businesses or individuals are interested in collaborating with UWSP’s Department of
Art & Design students to create a public sculpture, please contact CJ Robinson, director
of development for the College of Fine Arts and Communication, at 715-346-3056.
