Baptizing Art for over Two Years

As many alums through the 80s and 90s were quick to notice, ACU’s early forays into public sculpture were less inspired than inscrutable. Landmarks like Omega Point or the Abilene Family deserve further discussion, but as the year ends the editors at Weird ACU would like to look back on 2006 as the date a C-of-C campus turned from its iconoclastic past toward a rural Renaissance. 

  

 

Many observers will assume this rebirth began with Jacob (aka Jack Maxwell) and his dream. The 34-foot sculpture of angels ascending and descending not only established Abilene once and for all as the new Bethel (many had quoted Jacob upon exiting I-20, “how dreadful is this place!”). The monument has also become a regional landmark, boasting its own official website, Telly-award-winning documentary, and Christmas ornament–a beautiful way to celebrate the holiday all year-round. 

 

 

Yet this fitting attention to the heavenly hosts (please, stop looking at Raphael’s bum) has overshadowed another grouping installed that same year. No less inspired for their humble origins (in the words of Isaiah, they had no comeliness to recommend them), a group of rural school children appeared outside Burford. Pressed obscurely to the center of campus (there was no room for them at the other end), the installation has been overlooked by the Cultural Affairs Council and other local critics and become the focus of local pranks. Passersby continue to raise questions to their true worth.

  

  

After further research over the holiday season, a team from Weird ACU has discovered that these statues–commonly known as the Abilene Orphans–are also priceless pieces of art. Originally produced by a group called “The Art of Bronze,” the set including the boy balancing a leaden balloon, the young pedant who can’t spell “redaing,” and a rare early Harry Potter can no longer be purchased online for any price. They are no longer in stock.

 

Stay tuned in future weeks for a three-week retrospective on wildcat sculpture through the ages.