Sculpture

The Sculpture Program here at the University of Arkansas is growing at a rapid pace.

The School of Art welcomes students to the Sculpture Studio, a 33,000 square foot complex near campus located at 744 South Hill Avenue. The renovated complex was transformed by the architectural team of Modus Studio in Fayetteville and El Dorado Inc. in Kansas City.

Students can utilize Razorback Transit bus route for transportation and enjoy the Tsa-La-Gi Trail, part of the Fayetteville Trail System, located behind the complex.

The Sculpture Studio features new wood and metal shops, a foundry, forge, sand and slurry lab, wax/plastics/rubber fabrication lab, advanced technologies lab, sculpture classrooms, and installation and documentation spaces all under one roof. 

In addition, M.F.A. and B.F.A. sculpture student studios and classroom space for the School of Art’s Foundations classes are housed in the complex. Support for the renovation and new equipment was generously provided by the Windgate Charitable Foundation.

The complex represents a large part of the School of Art's future. Thanks to the continued generosity of the Windgate Charitable Foundation the complex will be the first building in the new Windgate Art + Design District.

Mission

To foster independent studio practices, the faculty believes we must meet our students on a broad playing field, which offers manifold approaches to making in the 21st century. From traditional sculptural processes to advanced technologies, our mission is to cultivate creative thinking and inventive problem solving by challenging categorical presets and considering Sculpture beyond the expanded field. Our program is committed to providing our students with the tools necessary for synthesis while emphasizing concept as the driving force motivating material and formal decisions, process, form, and context as they relate to historical and contemporary sculpture, critical theory, and collaborative practices.

Beginning level undergraduate students are introduced to representational modeling, construction methods in wood and steel, carving, basic mold-making, and casting, while intermediate level students are mentored in large-scale fabrication using wood and steel, intermediate carving and mold-making, casting in metal and alternative media, collaborative installations, and contextual assignments, which include public art projects. Advanced level students are encouraged to experiment with process as product, environmental art, time-based media, and interactive media, incorporating kinetics, light, performance, video, and sound. Classes are supplemented by lectures, demonstrations, readings, class discussions, and field trips. Individual feedback through our visiting artist program further contributes towards enriching student work.

With sculpture’s move to a new facility in 2016, an increase in equipment and course offerings as well as integration of advanced technologies is expected to follow.

Facilities & Equipment

All students must be trained in the safe and proper operation of equipment by Dave Gibbs, Shop & Safety Coordinator, before using the wood and metal shops.

Once trained, undergraduates have access to tools and shop equipment during monitored shop hours, which are offered approximately 30-40 hours per week in our wood and metal shops.  Graduate students have 24-hour access to shops and equipment. Click here for Monitored Shop Hours.

Wood Shop Equipment

Metal Shop Equipment

Additional Equipment

• Sewing machines (5)
• Waxworking pans
• Tripods
• iMacs

2016 Acquisitions

(courtesy of the Windgate Charitable Foundation)