New sculpture at Chadron State College reflects learning and local landscape

CHADRON – A new permanent outdoor sculpture, Field Work(s), was installed near the Math Science Center of Innovative Learning (COIL) in late July. The piece fulfills Nebraska’s requirement that one percent of state construction funding for certain capital projects be used for public art.
Nationally recognized sculptor Adam Kuby designed Field Work(s) to reflect the scientific inquiry and field research central to CSC’s mathematics and science departments, as well as the unique topography of western Nebraska.
“A college campus offers a special opportunity to engage with students and faculty and to reflect the excitement of learning,” Kuby said. “I like to immerse myself in a place—its history, human activity, flora, and fauna—before creating.”
Kuby envisions the hillside site as a setting for field studies in geology, paleontology, and biology. He selected weathering steel for its earthy surface and ability to form the organic shapes he imagined.
The three sculptures are set on the hillside to the immediate west of the Center of Innovative Learning amid the sidewalk that winds up the hill. Each sculpture has regionally significant shapes cut into the steel: plant specimens from the High Plains Herbarium, a sectional view of the Ogallala aquifer stratigraphy, and bones from the Hudson-Meng bison site.
The project began two years ago with a proposal and selection process. Field Work(s) will join Kuby’s portfolio of public sculptures installed at colleges, parks, airports, bridges, and cityscapes nationwide.
A public unveiling for Field Work(s) is being planned for the fall semester. The artwork is now open for viewing, and final landscaping touches are also being planned by Kuby and the CSC grounds staff.