The campus art feature — the artist’s perspective

Internationally renowned artist James Carpenter designed the campus art feature to reflect the quality of the sky. The left photo was taken in the mid-afternoon on a sunny day. The right photo was shot just before dusk.

In the interview below, internationally-renowned artist James Carpenter, discusses the UNMC campus art feature — a 120-foot light tower in the UNMC Student Plaza — which he and his studio team created.

The art feature — which was paid for entirely by private donation — is part of overall plans for UNMC’s academic campus. Omaha philanthropists Ruth and Bill Scott made the lead donation on the art feature.

What was the inspiration behind the piece?

What we tried to do is reflect the quality of the atmosphere, meaning the beautiful effects that occur in the Nebraska sky. In many places in Nebraska, the clouds and sky seem to merge with the ground and we wanted to capture that effect with the piece. The piece will reflect the quality of the sky, so if it’s a bright sunny day, it will appear to shimmer. At dusk, it will reflect the variety of colors that are in the sky.

Feature photos View images of the new campus art feature taken from various spots on campus. Read a previous story about the feature.

How long did it take to construct the tower?

It took a year. Transportable by road, the four tower segments — each 12 feet in diameter and 30 feet high — were fabricated in Minnesota. The triangle panels were done in Kansas City, Mo.

Much of your work is based on the manipulation of light. What about light is so interesting to you?

Light is a very powerful experience. We all carry memories of significant light experiences — beautiful sunrises and sunsets, etc. Much of my work is in urban areas, where people think of themselves as separated from light. We try to show that light still is very much involved with the urban experience.