U City, Wash U Sculpture Project opens April 1

The 26th annual and Student Sculpture Project opens Sunday, April 1, with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. at , 7210 Olive Boulevard.

Sculpture students from Washington University’s Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts competed for this opportunity by developing proposal and models, along with budgets, presented to the University City Municipal Arts & Letters Commission.

This year’s line-up includes:

• “Domestic and Wild,” by Aly Strubberg, proposes to help “show the viewer the dichotomy of wild nature and domestic nature,” according to the artist, who will combine a series of wooden doors with the already existing flora seen in between the playground and the creek in .
• The southern part of Rabe Park hosts “QR City” by Melissa Gollance, featuring a giant outdoor QR Code.  “QR Codes” – square bar codes containing data readable by smart phones and other electronic readers – have become an increasingly prevalent part of modern life.  Although the general uses of these codes symbolize more our interaction with technology, the artist hopes the interactive nature of her work will “encourage face-to-face social interaction.”
• “Shadowplay,” by artist Matt Callahan, explores, according to the artist, “the influence that Washington University, as well as the larger city of St. Louis as a whole, has had in shaping University City.”  His video joins computer-generated animation with scenes shot from inside . It will be seen in the east-side shop windows of the Market in the Loop Plaza.

Ongoing updates of the students’ progress, as they work toward the April 1 opening, will be available at the commission’s website: 

http://universitycityartsandletters.wordpress.com/

The City of University City, the Municipal Commission on Arts & Letters, the and the Marvin Levy Fund funded this project.  Some past projects have become a permanent part of the city’s landscape, including “Rain Man” near the Post Office and “Rhythm Section” outside the Centennial Commons.