Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Collector working to make UIS 'walking gallery' of art

Bob Vogele wants the University of Illinois Springfield to be a campus for art. To that end, Vogele and his wife, Ruth, have donated a large yellow sculpture by world-renowned artist John Henry to the university.

Henry and his crew erected the sculpture, consisting of seven sections of intertwined linear steel, just outside the teardrop drive in front of the Public Affairs Center on Tuesday while Vogele and university officials looked on.

“I’ve been working with Bob for several years now for his vision that UIS can be a campus that wherever you go, you will be exposed to museum-quality art,” said Vicki Megginson, associate chancellor of development at UIS. “We want it to become a public walking gallery.”

Henry’s “Dodger,” at 15 feet high, is one of his smaller outdoor pieces, he said. He’s currently building a 167-foot sculpture and has the pieces in place for one in excess of 300 feet.

The sculpture was featured in an May 23, 2012, article in the State Journal-Register.

Read the article online