PRINTPosted on May 01, 2010 at 23:40:51:
By Nancy Selbe
PRINT
Posted on May 01, 2010 at 23:40:51:
By Nancy Selbe
Legacy in Bronze (updated)
The Deines Cultural Center is opening an impressive exhibit of bronze sculpture on Sunday, April 18 with an artists’ reception from 2:00-4:00 pm. “Legacy in Bronze” brings the work of Dr. Elden C. Tefft along with some of his former students and their students in this large exhibit. Tefft began experimental research in bronze casting in the 1940s and continued as Director of the Kansas Sculpture Research Center, dispersing the resulting technology through publications, workshops, and teaching around the world. As a faculty member at the University of Kansas, he established the Sculpture Major program that produced many professional artists including those represented in this exhibit. Tefft founded the International Sculpture Center and its conferences which have been cited as the prime mover in the return of bronze founding to the artist’s studio. He is the recipient of the first Governor’s Arts, Life Time Achievement Award in Art Education and received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts. Most recently, he received the Phoenix Award in exceptional artistic achievement from the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission in 2008. At 90, Tefft continues to work as a full-time sculptor in his studio facility. He is presently casting a larger than life sculpture to be installed at the Canadian birthplace of Dr. James Naismith. One casting has already been installed at Springfield College in Massachusetts where Naismith invented basketball. Among other pieces, he has produced an architectural relief entitled Trails West for the Kansas Travel Information Center, Olathe, and a six-foot bronze Hawk for Olathe High East and a bronze Wildcat for Baker University in Baldwin City. He is also noted as the sculptor of the bronze Moses on the KU campus, as well as a series of Jayhawks that has continued since 1941. The “Legacy in Bronze” exhibit also brings works by the late Gary Coulter, creator of two firefighter memorials in Colorado Springs; Jim Hinkhouse, sculptor of the wheat form in front of Beach Schmidt Performing Arts Center at Fort Hays, Jim Bass, well-known sculptor from Topeka and Mike Livingston, full-time bronze sculptor and furniture maker from Hutchinson. Other sculptors in the legacy who will be displaying their work are Trudy Calvert, Maura Landry, John McCoy, Thomas Mark Sampsel, Sheila von Geyso and metalsmith Kim Tefft who will be showing sculptural jewelry. The exhibit will include photographs of some of the larger public works of the artists as well and will be up through May 20.
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