I knew that it wouldn't take long for a WSU alum to set me straight on the mystery sculpture on campus. Also for setting me straight that the correct abbreviation for Washington State University is "WSU" and not "WASU". So the credit for the detective work goes to Craig Brown who sent me this today:Turns out the Campus Arts Committee purchased the sculpture following an exhibit of bronze sculpture on the WSU campus in 2004. That particular piece by Brad Rude is named "A World Beyond" (I'll say).
http://content.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/photo&CISOPTR=1628&REC=3
http://washington-state-magazine.wsu.edu/stories/04-fall/sculpture/sculpture10.html
http://washington-state-magazine.wsu.edu/stories/04-fall/sculpture/map.html
You can even give your own artistic interpretation (careful, artists have feeling too!):
http://pbj.ctlt.wsu.edu/cbruce/articles/479.aspx
Before putting it on display at WSU, Rude loaned it to the city of Reno for display:
Sept 10, 2003
Wednesday, the Reno City Council approved the loan agreement for display of the sculpture, valued at $120,000.00, for an indefinite period. Rude will transport and install the sculpture so the only expense to the city will be about $200.00 a year for insurance, based on the value of the sculpture. According to a story on Rude in the July 2003 edition of Southwest Art, the artist "renders animals in extreme detail in the tradition of the western masters he admires. Then he places them at the center of a surreal, emotional world." The story says many of his sculptures incorporate basic man-made tools like a wagon, bucket, wheel, canoe, tractor, etc. in conjunction with animals that appear to be conducting an investigation. "A World Beyond," follows Rude's style by depicting a mule atop a wagon with a track of animals overhead. Various images are also etched onto the mule.
For those of you who have the opportunity to visit WSU, the sculpture is in front of the veterinary school on Stadium Way.
