Like many public institutions, the University near me has a longstanding “1% for art” policy, which has populated the campus with hundreds of sculptures and other art works [2]. Many of them are forgotten, even in plain sight. But a few have been remarkable successes.
I have written before about the important role the Alma Mater has acquired [1]. What ever the intentions of the artist and administrators 100 years ago, Alma has become the focus of a happy communal ritual that unites the whole University community at graduation time. Remarkably, this ritual was spontaneously created by the students, without official directions or “permission”.
This spring, a new art work was installed on campus, and it is already a great success. Untitled, the installation is a full size model of a Mammoth, which might have lived in the area 6,000 years ago [3]. Prominently located near the historic nineteenth-century Natural History Building, it has been noticed by the thousands of daily passers by!
The powers-that-be have their own official story of what this work might mean. It is attention grabbing (and pretty), and also “giant educational opportunity.” This is a highly realistic representation, evocative of the cherished Natural History Museum, and the long tradition of natural science on campus.
But, of course, within weeks, the student body seized on this art work, and is creating their own meaning. (Again, without official instruction or “permission”.)
First of all, she (?) has been given a affectionate name: Tuskee-Wow-Wow. If you are in anyway familiar with Illinois, you recognize the reference to the enigmatic school song. I, for one, was immediately charmed by this moniker!
Furthermore, and fueling my own suspicion that it’s a “she”, Tuskee-Wow-Wow was incorporated into the annual Mother’s Day weekend, with an informal dress up [4].
I expect she wlll regularly join Alma, who dresses up for many occasions.
I say, welcome to campus, young Mammoth! We love you already.
- Robert E. McGrath, A Digital Rescue for a Graduation Ritual. Urbana, Illinois, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/2142/105503
- Muriel Scheinman, A Guide to Art at the University of Illinois: Urbana-Champaign, Robert Allerton Park, and Chicago, Urbana, University of Illinois Press, 1995.
- Travis Tate, A mammoth tribute to Illinois history, in College of Liberal Arts & Sciences – News, March 24, 2023. https://las.illinois.edu/news/2023-03-24/mammoth-tribute-illinois-history
- Bradley Zimmerman, Bright Spot: U of I woolly mammoth decorated for Mom’s Weekend, in WCIA TV News, April 14, 2023. https://www.wcia.com/news/bright-spot/bright-spot-u-of-i-woolly-mammoth-decorated-for-moms-weekend/
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