Arkansas Tech University will unveil a new piece of public art on its Russellville campus on Tuesday, April 26.
The sculpture, entitled “Murmuration,” was created by Andrew Malczewski, who is serving as the Windgate Foundation artist in residence at Arkansas Tech for the spring 2022 semester. His sculpture will be located on the quad south of the ATU Administration Building and north of the Hull Physical Education Building.
The unveiling is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26. Earlier that day, Malczewski will host an artist talk beginning at 10 a.m. in room 105 of Norman Hall, 203 West Q Street in Russellville.
A native of Chicago, Ill., Malczewski holds a Bachelor of Fine Art degree from Northern Illinois University and a master’s degree from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He lives in San Antonio, Texas, where he co-hosts the podcast “Artsplanations” with his fiancée, contracts as a fabricator and accepts private commissions for drawings, paintings, sculptures and ceramics.
At the outset of his project in January, Malczewski explained that “Murmuration” was inspired by the ATU vision statement: where students succeed, innovation thrives and communities flourish.
“I thought about how I could visually represent those concepts in a striking and dynamic way and was inspired by the murmuration of starlings,” said Malczewski. “A starling is a common black bird found almost everywhere in North America. But collectively when they flock together, a murmuration forms and they become something amazing; a breath-stealing, swooping, pulsating, harmonized whole that appears to defy nature while defining it. I loved the way the imagery of the murmuration matched the concepts of the vision statement. I see the murmuration as a community that is thriving and succeeding at something that looks impossible…much like the university community, their students, faculty and staff.”
Malczewski is the fourth artist in residence in Arkansas Tech history. He was preceded by Manami Ishimura (spring 2019), Tiffany Black (spring 2020) and Jade Hoyer (fall 2021).
The program is made possible through a grant from the Windgate Foundation. The program is made possible through a grant from the Windgate Foundation. Additional financial support from the Windgate Foundation over the past four years has allowed Arkansas Tech to establish a summer professional development program for K-12 art teachers, develop enhanced opportunities for ATU graduates to attend medical school, purchase equipment for Arkansas Tech nursing students, create an endowed art scholarship fund and establish a need-based scholarship fund for ATU students.
Learn more about the ATU Department of Art at www.atu.edu/art.
