Rain's Thursday Art Date: Sculpture

 

 It's Thursday and time to share the latest edition of Rain's Thursday Art Date.  Rain has asked us to share sculptures this week.  When perusing my photos from our art museum, I didn't realize how many sculptures I have actually photographed.

Today we are visiting, among other places, the Wichita Art Museum (WAM).

This buffalo has graced the outside of WAM

since I first started going there.

I like abstract, but this metal sculpture confused me.  It's called Wind Break and reminds me of the plastic wind breaks farmers string along roads in winter to keep the snow at bay.  I'm sure the museum paid a fortune for it, which really surprises me.
 

More new art sculptures at WAM.

Our famous Chihuly Bridge inside WAM.

I didn't organize these very well, I fear.  This is from our botanical gardens.

All the above are also from the botanical gardens in Wichita.

In 2019, I visited the Eisenhower Museum and complex in Abilene, Kansas (USA).  Here is his bronze statue.  Sadly, it was backlit and very dark.

I might be stretching this by calling these sculptures, but they are part of outdoor exhibits showing Wichita's native American heritage.

And what can be more impressive or representative of Wichita, than Keeper of the Plains.

Whether it's day or night, winter or summer, the Keeper is an iconic symbol that can be seen for quite a distance.

One of the many statues found at Wichita's War Memorial.

Gino Salerno has become world famous as a sculptor of objects and icons made from dead trees.  He creates them first using chain saws to outline the shape, then fine tunes them using other sculpting tools.  Many of his pubic works have been damaged by vandals, so they have now been removed and placed in secure buildings where they can be preserved for future generations to enjoy and appreciate.  Check out other of his wood sculptures here.

Now let's head to Newton, Kansas, a small town about 30 miles north of Wichita. 

This sculpture is called Big Sky and was created by Phil Epp. 

There are tons of sculptures downtown, but this one is so unusual (and not commissioned by the city), I thought I would share it.

There are tons of sculptures downtown commissioned by the city, as you will see in the next few photos.

Now we've been downtown, let's head back to WAM.

This is a huge sculpture at WAM.  Below are detail shots.

I'm standing next to this area, not hunched down.

Now for more WAM sculptures.

Let's go inside WAM and see a few in there, too.

These were created by Charles Russell.

However, when I visited a privately owned museum in El Dorado, Kansas, 

I got to see Frederick Remington bronzes.

Although Remington was known for the cowboys of the west, he also had bronzes showing human emotion, too.

Of course, El Dorado had other bronzes, too.

Of course I found 

this huge Remington

greeting us outside the Cowtown Museum, also located in Wichita, Kansas (USA).

When I visited my friend Kathy in Hutchinson, Kansas, where she lives, I saw many sculptures there, too.

These were at the entrance to a restaurant where we ate.

 

Kathy and I both liked this one because of the books.

 

They have some extremely eclectic sculptures and hold yearly contests to see who will win and whose art will be installed along the main streets of town.  Like Wichita focuses on beautifying with murals, Hutchinson seems to focus on sculptures.

I found all these at the Museum of World Treasures.

I hope you have enjoyed this look at sculptures this week.  

All photos were taken by me using either my old worthless camera or the one I am using now.  I am not a sculptor, so you will get no personal art today.  Bleubeard wants to use his sandbox to create his own sculpture.

 

Thanks for visiting today.  I spent a lot of time looking for sculptures for Rain's Thursday Art Date challenge today.  I am thrilled you made it this far.  See you at Rain's soon.