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Object NameSculpture

Artist / Maker Thomas Stancliffe ((American, b. 1955))

Date2021

MediumWelded and patinated steel, aluminum, LED lighting.

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineCommissioned by the College of Veterinary Medicine and University Museums in recognition of the importance of art in promoting wellness in the veterinary profession. In the Art on Campus Collection, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberU2021.1

Status

On view

Collections

CultureAmerican

Label TextFrom the University Museums Collections Handbook, vol. 2, 2025: Tom Stancliffe created this installation during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the unique challenge of the public art committee discussions held virtually over Zoom to communicate the needs of the project. The public art committee sought to commission a work of public art to inspire the restorative power that art brings to enliven people, brighten and elevate the daily lives of students, staff, and faculty. The art is sited in the “Fish Tank Lobby” of the building, which includes a tank of live fish, as well as café seating for students to enjoy. Stancliffe responded to the site by invoking the lively, playful nature of the space: “The location of the artwork is a wall that encloses a large auditorium, and I thought it would be interesting to reimagine that space within as a vast aquarium.” In line with Stancliffe’s unique artistic practice of creating imagery through etching, patinating, and burnishing images of animals on metal, this work of art responded to the needs of the committee and activates the space in a way that is personal to his aesthetic. Porthole-like sculptures line the long hallway, and include a sea creature peering in at the students studying below. Tom Stancliffe is represented in the Art on Campus Collection across campus such as Dikhotomia, gateway sculptures in Reiman Gardens, Twice Sown for Seed Science, and Glean I, II, and III for the Roy J. Carver Co-Lab.

Locations