Abstract sculpture to adorn outside of Snyder-Phillips' Gallery

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The space outside The Gallery in Snyder-Phillips Hall will soon be home to a new resident: a roughly 26-foot-tall sculpture.

MSU hired New York-based artist John Van Alstine to construct an abstract piece, which will be called Funambulist.

The piece will occupy an open area outside the residence halls dining area, said Jeff Kacos, director of campus planning and administration.

Kacos said the sculpture is expected to cost about $150,000.

The money for the sculpture is derived from a Board of Trustees decision, which mandates that half of one percent of funds for major renovations must go toward public art.

In this case, the sculpture makes up that percentage of the Snyder-Phillips renovations and other major construction projects, Kacos said.

Van Alstine was chosen by the Public Art on Campus Committee. Members liked his design and his reputation, Kacos said.

April Kingsley, curator of the Kresge Art Museum, said Van Alstine’s idea was chosen because of its size, color and the way that it would engage students.

“We like students to think about it and feel like it’s something to get attached to,” Kingsley said. “It’s upbeat and uplifting, literally and figuratively.”

Van Alstine was chosen after the committee checked into the work of various artists.

Kacos said the committee also sought input about the sculpture from the Residential College of Arts and Humanities and the Division of Housing and Food Services.

Van Alstine then was hired to do a design proposal and the committee picked a favorite from among his submissions.

The university and Van Alstine are in the process of working out a contract, Kacos said.

Kacos said he hopes the sculpture can be constructed and installed by fall.

“The whole thing can be seen as a figure balancing,” Kingsley said. “It gives it an active quality — even though nothing moves, it has a great sense of motion.”

Kingsley said the towering sculpture will fit well in the large area outside The Gallery.

“It’s a lot of space, and so it’s all open,” she said.

“You need something that’s really going to make a mark there.”

Arts and humanities freshman Abby Schottenfels, who lives in Snyder Hall, said she thinks the sculpture fits in with RCAH’s commitment to supporting the arts.

“I think The Gallery is a classy place already, and having some big cool art would be cool,” she said.

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