The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art plans to add a sculpture close to Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium later this year, adding to its outdoor collection.
The statue, created by sculptor Tom Otterness, does not have an exact release date because it is still being cast and therefore has not yet been delivered, said Mark White, Wylodean and Bill Saxon director at the museum.
Otterness is originally from Wichita, KS but currently resides in New York City. His works are displayed in museums across the country, including the Brooklyn Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
This addition is just one of several statues and sculptures across the University of Oklahoma’s campus that have been acquired by the FJJMA.
While he could not comment on the price of the pieces, White said the primary source of payment comes from donations rather than the museum’s money.
“The difficulty with getting public sculptures comes with the expense,” White said. “Not only the considerable value of the piece. Then you’ve got all the installation costs and the ongoing upkeep. So we really rely on outside donors. They’ve really been invaluable to us.”
This statue is the first one acquired by the FJJMA since 2014, when it purchased pop artist Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” and unveiled it outside Jacobson Hall. That statue was also acquired thanks to an outside donor, 1957 alumnus William Obering.
For more information about the FJJMA’s outside collection of sculptures and statues, visit http://www.ou.edu/content/fjjma/collections0.html.
