Deborah Butterfield bronze horse sculpture to be installed at Purdue
This Deborah Butterfield sculpture will be installed in front of Yue-Kong Pao Hall. The life-size bronze horse sculpture will not be named until it is installed at the intersection of Sheetz and Wood streets. The sculpture was commissioned specifically for Purdue and funded by the Florence H. Lonsford Endowment. (Photo provided)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A life-size bronze horse sculpture will be a new addition to the South Campus Plaza landscape in front of Purdue University's Yue-Kong Pao Hall.
The Deborah Butterfield sculpture, which will not be named until it is installed, will be located at the intersection of Sheetz and Wood streets. The installation is expected to begin around 10 a.m. Monday (Oct. 19).
The 1,700-pound sculpture was commissioned specifically for Purdue and funded by the Florence H. Lonsford Endowment, which is restricted to purchasing artwork.
Butterfield, who lives in Montana and Hawaii, is known for her sculptures of horses, said Harry Bulow, professor and head of the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts. Her work is on display at a number of museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Indianapolis Museum of Art
Butterfield created the original sculpture by assembling wooden sticks, logs and branches into the form of a horse, said Michal Hathaway, assistant director of Purdue Galleries, which is part of the College of Liberal Arts.
Photographs of the sculpture were taken before it was carefully disassembled. The individual pieces were then covered with a ceramic mold material that was fired in a kiln, burning away the wood but leaving an impression in the ceramic. After cleaning, the molds were used to cast replicas of the original wood in bronze, and then the molds were destroyed when the bronze was removed to ensure the sculpture is unique. After reassembly of the various parts, the bronze was then treated with a chemical solution that formed a patina that closely emulates the character of the original wood. In most cases, the patina and texture are so effective that viewers believe they are actually viewing a wooden sculpture, Hathaway said.
Yue-Kong Pao Hall, which opened in 2005, is home to the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts. The South Campus Plaza, which features seating for study and outdoor classes, was dedicated in April 2009
Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Sources: Harry Bulow, 765-494-3054, hbulow@purdue.edu
Michal Hathaway, 765-496-2816, Hathaway@purdue.edu