Situated along landscaped walkways, open green spaces, or within campus buildings, Rowan University’s public art beautifies our campus, enriches our community, and contributes to our cultural heritage while offering opportunities for fellowship and reflection. In addition to enhancing campus beauty and quality of life, public art encourages creative and critical thinking, expands appreciation for art, fosters a sense of place, affirms the University’s values and tradition, and extends the scholarly and creative culture beyond the classroom.
From an academic perspective, public art is a fascinating and relevant field to research. For example, public art has a long, rich history and since it is also an interdisciplinary arts practice, it is a unique topic of study. In addition, public art is a reflection of our history and how we view, care for, and collaborate to make our community better. As a consequence, public art is studied by a diverse group of scholars including art historians, architects, engineers, historians, geographers, and social scientists. In education, public art can be integrated into the curriculum to inspire creative and critical thinking, teach history and culture, explore digital scholarship, develop awareness and appreciation for art, and to explore the human condition.
Public art is also a unique topic of study because the artists who are commissioned to create public artworks usually design the work for a specific location and often explore multiple themes. At Rowan University, the public art collection explores themes in the humanities, biology, engineering, geography, literature, mathematics and science, medicine, philosophy, and even University history. For example, John Ottiano’s sculpture, “Growth #50,” was designed to commemorate our institution’s fiftieth anniversary. The student government selected its location in front of Chamberlain Student Center, and the students raised funds to install the iconic and conspicuous work. Students also helped design and build the sculpture within Dr. Roger Cantor’s sculpture class. The piece truly represents the collaborative spirit and tradition of our community.
In the spirit of our collaborative tradition, the Rowan University’s Public Art website was developed as a digital scholarship project by the Campbell Library Digital Scholarship Center in association with University Publications, University Planning, and the Rowan University Art Gallery to inspire new research, course projects, outreach, and creative development related to public art. The website can be used as an educational resource to explore topics related to public art such as art history, creativity, environmental studies, geography, history, writing, public spaces, and placemaking. If you would like to collaborate on a course or research project related to public art or need help to develop an idea contact the Campbell Library Digital Scholarship Center at dsc@rowan.edu.
Ultimately public art is an expression of our values and an important field to study. It beautifies our environment, reminds us of our history, inspires new connections and creativity, builds our sense of community, and encourages us to ask questions, share ideas, and continue to grow and explore.
Artists

Keith Jones
Keith R. Jones, a Welsch-born
New Brunswick resident painter who
specializes in realism.

Douglas Hollis
In the early ‘70’s, Hollis worked on
natural phenomena, and searched for
new ways to talk about landscape.

David Wilson
David Wilson is a glass artist and
designer living in central
New York State since 1978.

Cork Marcheschi
Cork Marcheschi, a San Francisco native, has been involved in the Fine Arts and Music scene for 40+ years.
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Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter is an artist specializing in
large-scale public installations,
such as architectural sculpture.

Carolyn Braaksma
As a public artist, Carolyn Braaksma
has been creating large-scale public art
commissions for over 20 years.

John Ottiano
John Ottiano was a professor and department chair for the Department of Art at Rowan University.
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Ray King
Ray King is an accomplished artist
who uses the natural phenomena of
light as it interacts with glass.

Beth Nybeck
Beth Nybeck received her
Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the
University of Northern Iowa.

Brad Kaspari
Brad Kaspari was born in rural
North Dakota and grew up on
Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range.

David Boyer
David Boyer specializes in kinetic wind sculptures. His wind sculpture explorations began in the late 1990’s.
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Zenos Frudakis
Zenos emphasis has been the
figure and the portrait, as
demonstrated in his many works.

Larry Kirkland
Larry Kirkland installations can be
found in institutional and municipal
buildings, transit hubs, and more.

Brian Hanlon
Brian Hanlon is a classically trained
master sculptor and founder of
Hanlon Sculpture Studio.

John Bannon
John Bannon is a multi-media
visual artist, with nearly 25 years of
experience and many collections.

Livio Saganic
Livio Saganic was born in 1950 and
grew up in Vidovici, on the island
of Cres, now called Croatia.