Public Art Program

Agave Dreams

Julian Voss-Andreae (German)

Stainless Steel and mild painted steel

2015

Biology Building, TTU

a female figure, kneeling on the earth with outstretched hands touching the ground. Sheltered between her hands grows a live agave, a plant with a history of deep significance to the native peoples in this area. Through her gesture of blessing the plant, Agave Dreams encourages us to question our attitude toward nature and the entire web of life. The mindset of separating subject and object, of detaching ourselves from nature, and of dividing the world into small parts assuming this will lead to an understanding of the whole, is contrasted with a holistic dream that seeks to integrate human, physical, and spiritual needs with the rest of creation by recognizing both as fundamentally one.

As Far as the Eyes Can See

Ilan Averbuch (Israeli)

Cor-ten weathering steel and granite

2020

Weeks Hall, TTU

two colossal rings of rough-cut granite stone and a branch made of Cor-ten weathering steel. The rings are made of recycled curbstone from old cities and roads. From a distance it is an object and an image, but as we enter the sculpture it becomes architectural and spatially engaging. The twin stone circles suggest wheels, movement, and physical motion, but can also be read metaphorically representing the circles of natural cycles. The stone rings remind us of two massive frames that offer alternating views of the surrounding landscape. The sculpture becomes a lens into and out of the campus inspired by the curiosity of inquisitive minds, asking students to look further than the limits they see before them.

Astrolabe

Owen Morrel (American)

stainless steel and painted aluminum

2014

Experimental Sciences Building, TTU

referent to a primitive navigational instrument. Unlike the original astrolabe, which was an instrument designed to orient navigators to the stars, in this instance, it asks the viewer to reorient the mind within a constructed landscape through the act of seeing. It is puzzle-like and requires the viewer to be active, to walk around the piece in an effort to discover what is happening and how it works formally and visually, not necessarily to solve a riddle in a linear and rational fashion. This piece asks the viewer to accept the totality of the experience as irrational, unfamiliar, challenging, and irreducible.

Bulls

Peter Woytuk (American)

Bronze

1995

Animal & Food Sciences Building, TTU

playful and satirical animal sculptures that exude personality and challenge our interpretation of animal form. Although Woytuk animates his subjects’ character, these bulls are freed from any conventional portrayal or romanticized themes that one often associates with this animal in Western art. Instead, the simplified organic forms are subject to artistic invention. The artist considers the bull grouping to be “one unified sculpture that the viewer is able to walk around and within.”

Comma

Po Shu Wang (Chinese)

Stainless steel and Bronze

2007

Student Union Building, TTU

blends art with science and encourages passersby to interact with it. The seven-foot stainless steel piece is a spherical resonator. By pushing the knob attached to the sculpture, viewers can hear acoustical waves bouncing from one end to the other. This is created by the bronze bells inside the sphere that are tuned at slightly different pitches, one small interval apart. This musical acoustical phenomenon is known as “comma.”

Fountain

Juanjo Novella (Spanish)

Cor-ten weathering steel

2013

Terry Fuller Petroleum Engineering Research Building, TTU

the organic forms of this sculpture were cut out of one-inch thick steel; the deliberately amorphous forms allow viewers the opportunity to interpret the sculpture based on their own experiences and frame of reference. For some, the sculpture may recall swirling water, strata of the earth, oil flowing through pipes, or other organic motifs. Novella is an internationally successful artist, with completed works in Europe, Asia, and New Zealand; this is his first commission in the United States.

Four Faces

Michael Stutz (American)

Bronze

2013

J.T. Margaret Talkington Hall

these four monumental faces are made of bronze straps using a “weaving” technique, originally developed by Stutz in the 1990s. Each face bears unique physical characteristics, subtly suggesting differences in gender, age, and ethnicity, while also producing a sense of unity derived from shared material, scale, and aesthetic temperament. In short, these sculptures hinge upon a series of dichotomies—individuality and universality, open and closed, traditional and contemporary, monumentality and intimacy—both extremes of which are simultaneously represented.

Headwaters

Larry Kirkland (American)

Granite and tile

2002

TTU Humanities and Education Complex

the central fountain features two monumental hands holding letters of the alphabet. The letters remain a fragment of a word and symbolize the potential for communication and thirst for knowledge. Water pouring over the fountain reminds the viewers of the variety of sounds that letters create. On all sides of the fountain, the artist placed carved books and sculptural motifs that invite contemplation: an egg on a nest suggests nurturing new ideas, a book with water ripples carved on its surface implies dissemination of knowledge, a house with a keyhole portal suggests opportunities for education within a community, a boat with a series of water ripples carved on its surface is a metaphor of life’s journey.

Knowledge Structure

Marco Cianfanelli (South African)

Rusted mild steel

2015

Innovation Hub at Research Park, TTU

sections through the brain, as profiles, are layered in the reconstruction of the three-dimensional form of “Knowledge Structure”, where a parallel between tree and intellect is seen, exploring the structures of these organic forms. The trunks and branches represent a notion of different disciplines, which are interrelated, and interdependent, sharing resources and displaying a process of growth and interconnectedness. The form of the human brain is evident, a neural network that is connected to, as well as dependent on, the earth. The five columns supporting the brain become conduits. The emphasis lies in the importance of innovation, science, and technology in the furthering of humanity, as endeavors that need to be responsive to and in synergy with, the environment.

Lluvia Luminosa

Ray King (American)

Dichroic glass and stainless steel

2007

Student Wellness Center, TTU

this work was created from 2,257 individual pieces of glass threaded onto and suspended by stainless steel cables at precise intervals to create a three-dimensional pattern. The sunlight from the eastern window strikes the glass elements, which contain a dichroic laminate film. The film is designed to split light wavelengths into a spectrum of colors. These colors change from a deep violet blue to cyan and may reflect a brilliant gold hue based on the time of day and the viewer’s position in relation to the work.

Viva Tree

Bruce Munro (british)

2017

LED lights, optical fiber, acrylic, stainless steel

TTU, Facilities Planning and Construction Lobby

Viva Tree is a site-specific sculpture from the artist’s Light and Language series. The words “Honor” and “Vision” are etched into the prisms, written in the dot and dash language of Morse code.

The Messengers

David B. Hickman

2013

Steel and limestone

TTU, Media and Communications Building

consists of five kinetic sculptures in the form of stylized messenger pigeons bearing the names of the five senses in their tails, and ten limestone benches arranged in concentric circles. The benches in the outer circle are engraved with the words “THINK ABOUT HOW YOU COMMUNICATE.” The combination of this phrase, the senses, and the pigeons is intended to provoke the viewer to contemplate rudimentary tools of human interaction and how they employ these tools daily. The Messengers is the first kinetic artwork in the collection.

Untitled

Robert Bruno

1974

steel

TTU, Architecture Building

 Bruno, a former professor in the College of Architecture, is best known for the creation of the Steel House in Ransom Canyon. This untitled sculpture, a fusion between art and architecture, is said to have been the inspiration for the Steel House and one of his few remaining sculptures. It was moved to the Texas Tech campus in late January 2015. The presence of one of Bruno’s works at the Architecture building serves as a memorial to Bruno and provides an educational site for students.

Seasons of the Llano Estacado

Steve Teeters

2002

Iron and Bronze

Flint Parking Garage

motifs based on the natural history of the Llano Estacado, Teeters conveys that Texas Tech is a natural home for ideas to be planted, incubated, and allowed to flourish. The four seasons and the phases of the moon remind the viewer of the cycles of time, growth, and change. The western panels represent Spring and the raw beauty of furrowed fields ready to be planted. Summer, a season illuminated by life and rapid growth, is depicted on southern panels. The eastern panel’s mature plant forms symbolize Fall, when ideas are ready for harvest. To the north is Winter, a time for quiet reflection on lessons learned.

Liquid Assets

Terry Allen

1996

Bronze

TTU School of Art

consists of a round well-like base in which a corporate executive stands. The figure is dressed in his business suit and holds his briefcase. Yet he is placed in the middle of a fountain, dripping wet. The water leaks from behind his neck and down his sleeves, as well as from his pockets. He is hunched over, his expression blank. This is not the strong, diligent businessman but a man consumed by stress, stuck where he is unable to move.

This sculpture is one in a series Allen has been making associated with corporate America. Liquid Assets is at once funny and pathetic.

Rain Stones

Rebecca Thompson

2015

Bronze and Texas Sandstone

TTU Bayer Plant Science Building

an interactive experience designed to integrate with the courtyard space while highlighting the importance of our Earth’s natural resources. Visitors are encouraged to walk between the sculptures through the courtyard path and view the ancient past of soil that is revealed on the west face. During the rains, the bronze waterway will direct water to the handmade bronze bowl, which then flows to the landscape nearby. This piece is a meditative reminder of sustainability, erosion, and the important event of rain. Primary Texas crops are illustrated on the bronze relief, including cotton, sorghum, sunflowers, and grapes.

Universal Signs

Barbara Grygutis

2004

Granite and Limestone

TTU Jones ATT Stadium, Stangel/Murdough Hall, and Knapp Hall

Inspired by the flat landscape of West Texas, Grygutis designed the punctuation signs of this low horizontal sculptural seating in Texas granite and limestone. From cartoon books to abbreviated internet communications, human emotions and action are often reduced to symbolic punctuation signs. The artist’s placement of the symbols capture the wide range and grand scale of conflicting emotions inspired by football and life on a college campus

Park Place

Glenna Goodacre

1997

Bronze

TTU Health and Human Sciences Building

art that can be admired, yet also that very rare art that beckons to be sat upon, designed to further break down art stereotypes. Here, several slightly larger-than-life figures stop to rest. Two young people hugging, a mother sitting with a youngster, a man reading a newspaper, an elderly gentleman with his dog, and a jogger stretching are open not only to interpretation, but to touch and interaction. Goodacre sought to create a piece that would appeal to everyone—men, women, and children. She wanted viewers to sit down and enjoy “visiting” with the figures, and in so doing, identify with them.

Preston Smith

Glenna Goodacre

1985

Bronze

TTU Administration Building

commemorates Preston Smith, the former Texas governor from Lubbock. Known for his relentless work ethic and corny sense of humor, Smith was the first lieutenant governor to be directly elected to the governorship and the first West Texan to be elected. He was inaugurated as governor on January 16, 1969, and was re-elected to a second term in 1970. As governor, he signed into law the legislation that established the Texas Tech University School of Medicine. His papers are located in Texas Tech’s Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library.

All the Worlds A Stage

The Art Studio at RDG Design: Matt Niebuhr & David Dahlquist

2019

Stainless Steel, High-Performance Coating, Lighting

TTU Theater and Dance Building

ceremonial experience of entering the building where for a moment everyone is a performer on stage. Laser-cut metal panels suggest the opening of the stage curtains; the overlap of the moiré pattern panels creates a sense of shifting light and shadows; interior illumination casts an aura of theatric light; a simple stool prop is a glowing artifact at center stage. By walking through this portal, everyone steps into the world of theater and dance on the stage of imagination. artist team of Matt Niebuhr and David Dahlquist, working with The Art Studio at RDG Planning & Design, have completed installations in over one hundred public spaces throughout the United States and Canada.

Summer Tree Autumn Tree

Corinne Ulmann

2013

Hand-painted Architectural Glass

TTU Burkhart Center for Autism Education and Research

depicts an autumnal scene in golds and oranges, while the interior pane portrays a lush, green treetop scene. As lighting conditions change throughout the day, the artwork displays either one season or both seasons simultaneously. This shift between interior/exterior, autumn/summer refers to the subtle distinctions between internal and external worlds common to many individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Tornado of Ideas

Tom Otterness

2003-04

Bronze

TTU Student Union Building

contains characters that play a role in the narrative of this piece. At the base is a house splitting in two from the force of a tornado; books flying through the spiraling storm form the bulk of the piece. Titles on the books reflect conflicting ideologies; symbolically, these polar ideas fuel the tornado’s energy. Seated inside the divided house is a plump prairie dog eating coins. Riding high atop the piece is the artist’s rendering of the Masked Rider, kicking her feet triumphantly in the quest for truth. Otterness hopes this piece provokes discussion and discovery among viewers.

Read Reader

Terry Allen

Bronze

2002

TTU Student Union Building

bronze sculpture is made entirely out of cast books. The spines of eight books are aligned vertically to make up the backbone of the figure, and an open book on the figure’s head resembles a mortar board. The artist selected, among other things, old self-help books for their titles and warped pages. He employed a burnout casting process to ensure that embossed lettering and delicate textures of pages were retained. When visiting this piece, study the book titles and see what is discovered.

Milton’s Legacy

Farley Tobin

Granite and Tile

TTU Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery

this mosaic is inspired by aerial views of the West Texas landscape. The designs are based on the geometric landscape patterns created by the mechanics of irrigation. The artist’s interpretation of crop circles are featured in conjunction with the more delicate patterns created by the oil production sites.

Irish Madonna

Glenna Goodacre

Bronze

2001

TTU Health and Human Sciences Building

sculpture of a mother and child represents the hopes and dreams of those who settled our country. This sculpture is a fitting tribute to Maxine Blankenship, loving wife, mother, and grandmother, a woman of quiet determination and strength who possessed a love for art and beauty.

Donated by the Blankenship Family in memory of Maxine Blankenship

*Artwork not funded by the Texas Tech University System Public Art Program

Raider Red

Garland Weeks

2022

Bronze

Frazier Alumni Pavilion

Raider Red has been a Texas Tech icon for over 50 years. The mascot was created by Jim Gaspard with an inspiration from drawings by Dirk West. This statue was created by artist Garland Weeks and is life-sized to the Raider Red costume that visitors see around campus and at TTU games. The statue depicts Raider Red on his way to Jones AT&T Stadium holding his guns up. This project was funded by a donation from the Texas Tech Credit Union.

Run

Simon Donovan & Ben Olmstead

2017

Stainless Steel and LED Lighting

TTU Sports Performance Center

showcases five sequential depictions of a female athlete running, inspired by images of Texas Tech track athletes. It is as if each pose is captured by freeze-frame or stop-motion animation. To create the illusion of movement, each figure is created out of dozens of laser-cut vertical slices of stainless steel, with each layer held apart by pegs. This special construction creates an effect of an ever-shifting nature as you move around the piece, changing from a topographical view to figures almost disappearing from varying angles. Steel rod connectors between figures appear as free-floating lines exiting the back of each figure, instilling a sense of motion with a cartoonish flair.

Masked Rider

Grant Speed

2000

Bronze

TTU Frazier Alumni Pavilion

this life-and-a-quarter sized sculpture represents one of Texas Tech’s well-known mascots, the Masked Rider. Renowned sculptor Grant Speed captures the celebratory gallop of the university’s rider and black American Quarter Horse. The rider’s cape flows while the rider gives the “Guns Up” sign. Names of all former Masked Riders and their horses are etched near the granite base.

Mechanism

Frank Swanson

2016

Rose Red Granite

TTU, Maddox Engineering Research Center

A mechanism in engineering is anything that can transmit or transform energy. The sculpture can be viewed as mechanism, abstractly based on a sliding shaft coupler used to engage or disengage the transfer of energy.

The sculpture also honors the Maddox brothers, Jack and Donovan, and the JF Maddox Foundation. The center piece represents the Foundation, formed by the brothers. The two outer pieces represent each brother. They were the mechanism that transformed their goodwill into a foundation to benefit their community, a transformation of energy that will live on for generations.

Riding Into the Sunset

Electra Waggoner Biggs

1947

Bronze

TTU Memorial Circle

One of the most well-known landmarks on campus is the statue of Will Rogers and his horse, Soapsuds. This memorial was dedicated on February 16, 1950 by Amon G. Carter, a longtime friend of Rogers, who believed Texas Tech was the perfect setting for the statue. On the base of the statue, the inscription reads, “Lovable Old Will Rogers on his favorite horse, ‘Soapsuds,’ riding into the Western sunset.” Today, Texas Tech tradition and legend surrounds the statue. According to one legend, the plan to position Rogers to ride off into the sunset would cause Soapsuds’ rear to be facing downtown; to solve this problem, the sculpture was turned 23 degrees to the east so the horse’s posterior would face in the direction of College Station and Texas A&M.

Team Spirit

Stephen T. Johnson and Franz Mayer of Munich

2022

Glass Mosaic Tile

Dustin R. Womble Basketball Center, TTU

Texas Rising

Joe O’Connell and Blessing Hancock

2014

Stainless Steel and LED Lights

West Village Residence Hall, TTU

Untitled

Gordon Huether

2007

Architectural Art Glass

Lanier Professional Development Center, TTU

Transitions

Studio Art’s Desire

2012

Glass and High-Density Foam

The Commons by United Supermarkets, TTU

Seis Cuatrifolios

Joe Barrington

2012

Forged Steel, Reclaimed Steel, Cast Bronze, Powder Coat

Kent R. Hance Chapel, TTU

Seed Pod Benches

Robert Tully

2010

Steel and Limestone

Horn Hall, TTU

Blades of Grass

Barbara Grygutis

2006

Granite and Limestone

Clement Hall, TTU

Dos Barra del Oro

Tina Fuentes

1987

Mixed Media on Board

TCVPA Theatre and Dance Complex,TTU

Austin Plus Ultra

Farley Tobin

2006-2007

Granite and Tile

Child Development Center, TTU

Primordial Garden

Adela Andea

2016

Flex Neon, Steel, Foam, Health & Human Sciences Building, TTU

Fairyland, Exhibits F, J, M, P, W

Diana Dopson

2004

Digital Chromogenic Color Print

Administration Building, TTU

La Silla

Joel Salcido

1998

Silver Gelatin Print on Archival Paper

Administration Building, TTU

Zabila

Joel Salcido

1998

Silver Gelatin Print on Archival Paper

Administration Building, TTU

El Aprendizaje

Joel Salcido

2000

Silver Gelatin Print on Archival Paper

Administration Building, TTU

Camino a Casa

Joel Salcido

2002

Silver Gelatin Print on Archival Paper

Administration Building, TTU

Toro Obscuro

Joel Salcido

2002

Silver Gelatin Print on Archival Paper

Administration Building, TTU

Pioneer Mural

Peter Hurd

1954

Fresco

Holden Hall, TTU

Lapstrake

Jesus Moroles

2005

Granite

Discovery Mall, TTU

Aureole

Shane Allbritton

2017

Ceramic-Steel Discs

Industrial Engineering Building, TTU

Hive

William Cannings

2010

Inflated Steel

Electrical & Computer Engineering Building, TTU

Flowmotion

Nancy Lovendahl

American
Powder-coated Spun Aluminum

2014

TTU Exercise and Sports Sciences Building

inspired by the science of water dispersion when a swimmer dives into a pool. It relates to basic scientific flow concepts such as the nature of fluids, relative motions, flotation of the human body, skin friction, and drag and lift. Lovendahl portrays a diver penetrating water using color and abstract form made of spun aluminum hemispheres attached to the brick wall. The mural is intended to inspire activated energy for the viewer.

Oblique Intersection

Lead Pencil Studio: Annie Han & Daniel Mihalyo

Korean American, American
Black Oxide Stainless Steel

2019

TTU Experimental Sciences Building II

retains the language of recognizable building elements seen on campus.  The translucent sculptural form is made legible with viewer movement around the sculpture.  Constructed entirely with stainless steel rods, the ephemeral form is intended to be visually ever-changing based on a viewer’s position relative to the sun and seasons

Square Spiral Arch

Jesús Moroles

American
Granite and Limestone

2005

Experimental Sciences Building I

At 25 feet tall and 31 feet wide, Square Spiral Arch features spiraling lines of texture that radiate out like fingers of energy, reminiscent of a sunset. A polished rectangular path cuts through the center of the arch. This circle and square motif represents heaven and earth, respectively, and reflects the artist’s work and travels in Asia. It is this tall so emergency vehicles can get though it.