Iron and Earth

Artist / Maker Joseph Muench ((American, b. 1960))

Date2016

MediumSteel and wood, three panels, framed.

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LinePurchased by University Museums from the exhibition Compelling Ground with funds from the Joyce Tomlinson Brewer Fund for Art Acquisition. In the Art on Campus Collection, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberU2021.41abc

Status

Not on view

Collections

CultureAmerican

Label TextFrom the University Museums Collections Handbook, vol. 2, 2025: Iowa State University Professor and metalsmith Joseph Muench has often examined a nuanced approach to his material, creating works of art that transcend beyond the hard and unyielding nature metal evokes. His sculptures are highly refined, smooth and seamless, with a warmth that is not typically associated with metalwork. Iron and Earth is a highly personal sculpture, created in response to a different work of art in the University Museums’ Art on Campus Collection, but with a reflection to the agrarian history of his family. The triptych references the important elements that continue to drive farming in this state through detailed views of farm machinery, seeds, and crops in the fields. While Muench may not farm the Iowa land as his ancestors did, he understands that he is able to live a creative life due to their legacy of farming and in this work of art he takes a moment to honor his family and the agrarian lives of many past and present across the state.

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