Ulrich Art Museum Mural

This is the second post from the Wichita State University (WSU) Campus.  Please see yesterday's post where we checked out the Pizza Hut Museum.

Wichita State has an impressive collection of sculptures.  There are 76.  In my opinion, this is the jewel in the crown.  It is a Joan Miro.  It is titled Personnages Oiseaux or Bird People.  I'm not sure you can call this a mural, but that's what I'm calling it so I can join Sami at Sami's Colourful World and her Monday Murals.

There's a story behind this original mosaic of Venetian glass and marbles, the only one of its kind.  First, it is the only piece like it that Miro ever created.  Second, he donated the design, while WSU students and private donors funded production which took five years to create and install.  It was completed in 1978.

In the early 2000s, this beauty was beginning to show its age.  In 2009, the museum decided that it needed to be repaired.  It took two years to determine the best way to achieve that, because it had to be studied before it could be removed from the side of the museum building.

This is a huge mosaic at 28 X 52 feet (8,53 X 15,85 meters). Each of the 88 panels was removed and taken to a restoration specialist.  It took five years to complete the restoration, which included developing and implementing new methods and practices specifically for this work, while staying true to Miro's original design.  In addition to the glass and marble restoration, the original particleboard backing of the tiles was removed and replaced with stainless steel to prevent deterioration.  This beauty was reinstalled in late 2016 and now shines much like it must have when it was first created.

For those of you unfamiliar with Miro, he was a Spanish painter, who also worked in sculpture and ceramics.  He was born in Barcelona.  He is most famous for surrealism and abstract art, both of which are evident in this installation.

As the youngsters and I walked on campus to the museum, we saw several sculptures, but were too far away from them to get good photos.

Finally, I did everything I could think of to get this map to show on my blog.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get the PDF to work.  I hope you will click on the link below and see all 76 of these wonderful sculptures that sit on the WSU campus.   There are some incredible works, including a second Joan Miro, two by Auguste Rodin, a Henry Moore, a Salvador Dali, and a Fernando Botero, among others.

https://www.wichita.edu/museums/ulrich/documents/OSC_Map_2015.pdf

Please note the map is old and the Original Pizza Hut is shown at its old location, not in the new complex.

Thanks for visiting this gem with the youngsters and me and thanks for dropping by on your day of rest.  Don't forget to visit Sami's Colourful World, especially if you like murals.