Welded and patinated steel, aluminum, LED lighting
Commissioned by the College of Veterinary Medicine and University Museums in recognition of the importance of art in promoting wellness in the veterinary profession. In the Art on Campus Collection, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
U2021.1
This installation was created during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the unique challenge of discussions held with the public art committee virtually over Zoom to communicate the needs of the project. The committee created the following public art statement, which the artist was to address in the proposal:
Veterinarians, animal doctors, have mostly ignored the aquatic animal world. Please call it to our scientific and aesthetic attention!
Veterinary school is demanding and stressful. The Commons and Fish Tank Lobby will be a communal gathering place and social hub for the college. This place, with its public art, should inspire the restorative power that art brings to enliven people, brighten and elevate the daily lives of students, staff, and faculty.
Tom Stancliffe responded to the site of the “fish tank lobby” with its live fish tank, central meeting place, and proximity to the café by invoking the lively, playful nature of the space. “The location of the artwork is a wall that encloses a large auditorium, and I thought it would be interesting to reimagine that space within as a vast aquarium.”
In line with Stancliffe’s artistic practice of creating imagery through etching, patinating and burnishing images of animals on metal, this work of art responded to the needs of the committee and activates the space in a way that is personal to Stancliffe’s aesthetic.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0)
