Photo by Kyler Vertin
AMBER MATTICE
Assistant Reverb Editor
The woodlot behind Rockefeller Arts Center is home to many a discarded project. Various things lurk behind trees and in the brush. And if people venture there, they are sure to find something worthwhile. It is here where “Lucy” was found.
Directly on the edge where the trees and Three Man Hill meet, overlooking Rockefeller, there is a statue in the shape of an emaciated women crouching. Her name is Lucy and this semester, she has been getting a lot of attention.
“I was taking a walk through the woodlot, and I decided to cut through it instead of back to Ring Road. So I was climbing up this little ravine there and I just see a crouched figure at the top,” said freshman biology major Hannah Apthorpe. “I just kept walking but I was making noise and breaking sticks under my feet and this person wasn’t moving. It wasn’t until I got closer that I realized it was a statue. It was terrifying, and I wanted to know why she was there,”
Many have no idea she is there, or did not, until people started asking questions.
Colleen Holcomb, residence director of Kasling Hall, found it when hiking through the woodlot and decided that she had to know more.
“It was a little creepy at first … I posted a couple pictures on Facebook and everybody that I’ve known that has worked here had never even seen this sculpture,” said Holcomb. “So then, I had to ask if this is a new thing, do other people know about it, and how long has this been here?”
She contacted several people in an attempt to find the artist including University Police, the Department of Visual Arts and New Media and Art Forum.
It was after all of this searching that the artist was finally discovered to be Nicholas Gates, a senior BFA sculpture major.
“[Lucy] was a part of a series I was working on that dealt with problems humans faced from human-created situations,” Gates said. “The series included people who had been mutated by their environment, longing for things that were readily available before human interactions.
“She, in particular, is a woman exposed to radiation, leaving her hairless and deformed. Her hand is outstretched because she was originally reaching for a baby doll that represented the loss of reproductive ability due to radioactive exposure as a result of of our growing need and greed for power.”
The story behind her creation gives her a new depth of meaning. Those who saw her initially were surprised that she is linked to such a thought-provoking message.
“When I first saw it, it was not something I was expecting to see and it scared me, but knowing her story changed my view and I would go back and visit it, just to look at it in a different light,” said Apthorpe.
Lucy blends in pretty well with her environment, but she can still be seen fairly easily going up the hill or through the Forever Wild.
“She made her way to the woods one night after my work took a turn in a different direction,” said Gates about why he put here where he did. “I ran out of space for her and figured that the best place for her to fit in is a place where she can keep her eye on the art building, and maybe scare some people passing by.”
The sculpting is incredibly realistic, so the closer one gets, the more unnerving Lucy is. From her very evident spine to her gaunt face, the details are incredible.
Her frame shows signs of some weathering and discoloration, which begs the question of how long she has been there.
Gates revealed that she has been there for over a year now. It’s a wonder that she has not gotten more attention before now.
“I love that it took a good while before she was noticed, and I love even more that there are people who actively sought to find out why she was there and who created her,” said Gates. “I never expected that she would ever come up again, but I am enjoying that people are getting a kick out of her.”
The woodlot is the home of many things like Lucy. It is the graveyard for projects of all kinds. Students are sure to not be disappointed when venturing through.