New art installation depicts atom, peptide bonds

by Kean Spivey
Staff Writer

July 1, 2012

Steel sculpture installed on campus by professor Adam Walls and assistant Matthew Sharp depicts an atom and a peptide bond inside man-made structures. Photo by Kean Spivey

Standing in the courtyard beside GPAC and the University Center are two brand new sculptures for students to feast their eyes on for the 2012-2013 semesters.

The sculptures feature an atom, as well as a peptide bond, inside man-made structures.

Sculpting professor Adam Walls and assistant Matthew Sharp crafted the steel sculptures over the first part of the summer.

"I was thinking a great deal about architecture from our local area," Walls said.

"Mostly I was thinking about churches and abandoned structures that used to be textile mills," he said.

"I was also thinking about other structures of a much smaller nature, microscopic actually," Walls said. "I was looking for a way to relate faith, science and personal experience through sculpture."

According to Walls, the themes in his work come mainly from personal experience, emotions and cultural issues and his love for escapism.

"A great deal of my inspiration comes from the found object that I am working with," Walls said. "I first consider what shapes I can make with the material then I consider what meaning I can draw from those shapes."

The color scheme of red was chosen because, according to Walls, it is an emotionally charged color that will catch the eye of onlookers in contrast with the green grass setting.