 "Photo: Joshua Sy | Daily Trojan")
The installation of several realistic-looking and mysterious statues last month caused many students to do a double take when passing down Trousdale Parkway.
Four life-like bronze statues of ordinary people doing ordinary things were brought to campus Sept. 17 and will remain through the end of the semester as part of the 65th anniversary celebration of the division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the USC School of Dentistry.
The three sculptures - two painters at work near Taper Hall, a woman lying on the grass in Founder's Park and a woman sitting on a bench on 27th and Hoover streets - were created by artist J. Seward Johnson in an effort to connect with the common man.
"I want my people to be unheroic, and in so being, become universal. This is to suggest that we all have these moments of self-fulfillment," Johnson said in his book, Celebrating the Ordinary. "Perhaps we should take time to focus on them."
A request to add three to five more statues around campus will be reviewed by the Public Art and Campus Design Committee this month.
The presence of Johnson's work at USC is the result of an 18-year partnership with Flora Clark, associate dean and chair of the division of Occupational Sciences and Occupational Therapy. Clark said Johnson's work captures the essence of occupational therapy by studying the impact of daily activities on one's health.
"The sculptures remind us to take a moment to do things that make life worth living, if only for a moment," Clark said. "These mini-vacations connect us to the natural world."
There has been a positive response to the new public artwork, said Julie Bissell, an occupational sciences and occupational therapy professor who is spearheading commemoration.
"We are seeing students close [their] cell phones, pull out iPod [headphones], take a moment to smell the roses and stop to reflect on a moment," she said.
Olen Millholland, a senior majoring in architecture, stopped to carefully examine the sculpture of the painters near Taper Hall, leaning in to see the facial expressions of the workers.
"First, I thought they were real, and then when I saw they were actual sculptures, I thought that they were installation art that somebody kind of snuck in without anyone knowing," he said. "Then I noticed a little plaque and saw that they were school sanctioned. I thought that was pretty cool; I was pumped about it."
The statues' plaques do not identify them as an effort of the division of Occupational Sciences and Occupational Therapy, leaving some unaware of their origins.
"[The sculptures] are fun to walk by on my way to class," said Tim Lloyd, a junior majoring in international relations. "I just wish I knew who did it and why they are there."
Clark said that any advertising or commercialization of the work would detract from the purpose of the exhibit.
"We hope the sculptures both blend into the landscape as well as interrupt students' and faculty [members'] everyday patterns," said Paula Stoeke, director and curator for the Sculpture Foundation, which owns and manages the Johnson collection.
On the whole, students on campus seem to be respectful of public art, said Ruth Weisberg, dean of the Roski School of Fine Arts and chair of the Public Art and Campus Design Committee.
One of the sculptures, however, was damaged Sept. 22 after the home football game against Washington State University. It is currently being repaired.
"All public sculptures and public art are threatened at some level by weather conditions and vandalism," Weisberg said.
A ceremony honoring the presence of the sculptures on campus is scheduled for Oct. 12 and will feature speeches by both Clark and Stoeke.
Other events commemorating the anniversary include a wine tasting event and a special tailgate during the USC Homecoming football game.
