Ohio University is home to a $750,000 sculpture designed by Vietnam War Memorial creator Maya Lin, a fact freshman Grant Geiser did not know until he fell into it one night.
I have no idea (what the sculpture is)
but I fell in one of the holes the first week here Geiser said.
While some students walking past Bicentennial Park were able to identify the sculpture, many were as in the dark as Geiser.
The sculpture, titled Input is supposed to represent a computer punch card, each rectangle of the piece featuring words written by Lin's brother, Tan. While in high school, Lin took computer programming at OU. Her mother, Julia Lin, was a professor emeritus of English at OU while her father, the late Henry Lin, was dean emeritus of the College of Fine Arts.
Senior Lindsay McDaniel immediately identified the work, even mentioning its intention to resemble a punch card.
It's an art piece
McDaniel said. It's supposed to represent the Athens area and the university.
Joe Merical, a senior journalism major, was more blunt.
Two guys
concrete
a wheelbarrow and (Maya Lin) going over and digging holes
Merical said.
Many other students who were surveyed knew even less about Lin's work.
Freshman Cory Ripley said the rectangles looked like a monument.
I know (the rectangles) were expensive
Ripley said, calling it something to waste money on.
Lin's sculpture cost about $750,000; of that, $300,000 came from the Percent for Art Committee, a state organization that requires 1 percent of state money used for buildings be spent on public art. The rest of the money came from private donors and the university.
Mary Nelle Fay, a sophomore adventure recreation major, said she has read some of the words engraved on the rectangles and thought they referred to memories.
We think that maybe it's what people like about OU
added Beth Hunkins, a junior outdoor education and recreation major.
The sculpture, though visible from a distance, may be appreciated best by actually walking through it, said Marilyn Poeppelmeyer, associate professor in the School of Art and chair of the sculpture department.
I think a lot of it is possible to get by walking around it
Poeppelmeyer said, adding that many students try to judge the sculpture by driving past it.
Poeppelmeyer suggested placing a plaque or sign in Walter Hall to identify the sculpture. Because Input was dedicated in 2004, many newer students have not been informed about what it is, she said.
