LANDON LYONS
Special to The Leader
‘Suitcase’ by Steven Siegel. Image courtesy of fredonia.edu
In Spring 2025, when the Sustainability Committee moved to remove “Suitcase” (2015), the worst of a neglected set of sculptures on SUNY Fredonia’s campus, we were thrilled to see it go.
The apparent degradation of the form’s structure and the environmental impact it was beginning to have on its surroundings was noticeable.
Students were using it as a garbage can for Starbucks cups.
Pieces of limp rubber hose languished on the ground all around it.
It was grotesque. It had to go.
“Suitcase” is just one symptom of a sculpture program falling apart.
Look closely at the art around you on campus.
Red sculptures, like John Clement’s “Popeye” and Robert Murray’s “Megan’s Red,” are turning pink.
More regrettably, Bill Stewart’s terracotta piece, “Lunar Time,” which was erroneously placed outdoors and exposed to the elements, is in a state beyond repair.
We acquired this art but are not taking proper care of it.
Most sculptures on campus were first acquired under the In Sight / On Sight (ISOS) program.
ISOS began in 1998, founded by professors emeritus Bob Booth of sculpture and Marvin Bjurlin of ceramics.
The original idea was to install sculptures on a rotating basis of one to three years, with the strategies of minimal need for maintenance and ease of access for students seeking to work professionally with art installation.
At its height, ISOS works garnered popular attention with students, several of whom aided in the acquisition of sculptures as permanent works.
Permanent, here, being a relative term — a sculpture is only as permanent as its material; red is red until the sun fades it.
Owning a piece of art means that Fredonia is endowed with the responsibility of upkeep.
This responsibility is being shirked, and art is being lost, damaged and unreplaced in the process.
There are many reasons why In Sight / On Site failed as a program, meaning there are many lessons we can learn in the process of restoring our sculptures.
One issue is that of support. In 2014, at its peak, ARTFORUM secured around $4500 from the Student Government Association (SGA), more than enough to sustain ISOS.
Fracturing of student interest into major-specific clubs and low General Assembly attendance caused ARTFORUM to lose its ability to support ISOS — that, and a veto from the then-SGA President Connor Aitcheson on a motion to keep ISOS independent of a student organization ultimately sealed the fate of the program.
The attempt to couch ISOS under the job description of the Gallery Director was doomed as well.
When In Sight / On Site is the responsibility of just one person or organization, it becomes easier to forget about and absolve yourself of responsibility.
Not only does a program like In Sight / On Site need to return to Fredonia, but we also need to treat it like something worthwhile.
It’s less of a chore to maintain art if we agree as a campus that the art we have is valuable and will appreciate if we take care of it.
To be frank, In Sight / On Site operated under a lax structure that mainly got by through the connections Bob Booth had with artists that needed to fulfill a service component to secure grant funding.
If ISOS were to come back today, we would need to devote time to figuring out how to properly contract artists and how to secure funding.
It is a task that is larger than you and I — it extends to the entire realm of students, faculty and administration, and requires at least a few from each category to act in support of visual culture on campus.
It is not just In Sight / On Site that is the problem; it’s a general lack of attention paid, and responsibility shirked at SUNY Fredonia.
Without intervention, carelessness for our sculptures will start to look just like carelessness elsewhere on campus, enveloping and stifling educational pursuits for students.
Who wants to go to a school for art if they can’t even bother to order another coat of paint for a sculpture made by a professional?