Haas Fine Arts Sculpture Garden

Pitch. Jason McKim. 
Across the bridge, the Haas Fine Arts Center is surrounded by many of the Permanent Art Collection’s outdoor sculptures. It seems fitting to have the campus’s art building encircled by unique sculptures, some crafted by former UW-Eau Claire art students themselves.  
 
Jason McKim created Pitch in 1995 during his senior year as a sculpture major at UW-Eau Claire. The sculpture is a mix of both natural and unnatural objects, and according to McKim “is meant to reflect the relationship between people and nature.”   
Encounter. O.V. Shaffer. Copper. 

Encounter, by sculptor O.V. Shaffer, was added to UW-Eau Claire’s Permanent Art Collection in August 1973. It is located in the Haas Fine Arts Sculpture Garden, near the footbridge. The sculpture is made of welded, fabricated copper and was presented to Chancellor Leonard Haas by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Foundation and Wisconsin Art Council in recognition of his service to the University.
The plaque placed by the sculpture states: “Encounter by O.V. Shaffer, sculptor, is composed of seven forms representing the seven arts coming together and combining into dynamic, directed force. It also symbolizes the stream on campus that gathers its strength from the hills and drives toward the river.” The seven art forms in reference are architecture, crafts, dance, drama, music, painting, and sculpture.  
Shaffer was an extremely well recognized artist in Wisconsin, with more than 60 pieces throughout the state. Former Wisconsin Governer Walker awarded Shaffer a Certificate of Recognition in 2014 for having produced the most public art in the state. Shaffer passed in 2016, age 93, but was still sculpting up until age 87.  
  • Big Wheelbarrow. Peter Flanary.

    Big Wheelbarrow was installed in the Haas Fine Arts Sculpture Garden in October of 2001 and is a symbol for effort. The sculpture was chosen by the Art Accessions Committee from submissions to the Wisconsin Sculpture Invitational. Peter Flanary, a distinguished Wisconsin sculptor from Mineral Point, focuses on creating engaging places through his sculptures. 
  • Big Wheelbarrow. Peter Flanary.

    “Big Wheelbarrow presents an improbable scenario of a daunting task, or a new challenge the size of which we should all aspire to. The two-thousand-pound rock boldly resting in the wheelbarrow is embellished with Midwestern locations using the letters ‘wa,’ Milwaukee, Wausau, Chippewa, etc. It speaks enduringly about changing language and the emergence of cities, towns, and villages.”
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Bean Brook. John Ganske. 
Bean Brook was purchased in 2009 through the University gift account with additional funds donated by Mike Christopherson. The sculpture was installed in the Haas Sculpture Garden with a photo of the sculpture and stereoscope placed in the Haas Fine Arts Lobby.   
Column. Julius Schmidt. Cast Iron. 
Column was created by Julius Schmidt, the “grandfather of cast iron sculpture,” and was put on display in the Haas Fine Arts Sculpture Garden in 1984 near the Chippewa Riverbank. The sculpture was originally created at the University of Iowa where Schmidt was a professor of sculpture. 
Schmidt earned his B.F.A. and M.FA. from Cranbrook Academy of Art where he subsequently taught. During the early 1960s, Schmidt brought iron casting into the academic sphere, cutting out the outside source and allowing sculptors to cast their own projects. Schmidt often dived into the relationship between mechanical and natural within his sculptures. 
  • Untitled. Charles Huntington. Steel.

    Unofficially known as “Orange Twist,” Untitled by Charles Huntington sits behind the Haas Fine Arts Center. The sculpture was made from donated steel rolled at the Phoenix Steel Company in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and was coated in an orange enamel. Huntington, a Native American sculptor of Ojibwe descent, was commissioned with a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board as well as a purchase grant raised by UW-Eau Claire students. Received in October of 1974, the sculpture was essentially free, as Huntington volunteered his time, and the metal was donated.  
  • Untitled. Charles Huntington. Steel.

    Huntington was born in Niagra, WI, and raised in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. In 1959, Huntington switched from working in the auto industry to attending the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. There he was able to learn metal casting from well-known sculptor Paul Granlund (creator of UW-Eau Claire’s The Sprites). Many of his sculptures feature abstract infinity shapes, focused on balance, simplicity, and form.   
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Haas Sculpture Garden