Loyola’s campus gained some aesthetic appeal when a steel structure intruded on the lawn of the academic quad Wednesday morning.

Local artist David Borgerding donated his latest sculpture, “Tapatawpa,” now installed between Bobet and Marquette Halls.

“This piece is abstract,” Borgerding said. “It has no direct relationship to anything except what the viewer may find in it. It may represent any number of things to different people. The piece developed a dynamic quality which I carried through the entire piece.”

“Tapatawpa” is made of stainless steel, stands 12 feet four inches tall, and took Borgerding more than 90 hours to create.

According to Edward Kvet, dean of the College of Music and Fine Arts, Borgerding’s steel work may not be alone on campus in the near future. Kvet said he hopes more outdoor art will come to Loyola – the end result may be a sculpture garden between Marquette and Bobet Halls.

Kvet has created an ad hoc committee called Art on Campus. The main goals of this committee are to “expand and enhance (the) university collection of art,” and to “add to the overall aesthetic of the campus.” Kvet also said the committee is trying to encourage artists to add various pieces that will be on permanent loan to Loyola.

Art on Campus also plans to save money to buy art. “We hope over the next few years that we’ll start to put some money aside that we can get through fundraising, or that we can start to procure, to buy various pieces to expand that university collection,” he said.

Karoline Schleh, director of the Diboll Art Gallery, suggested using Borgerding’s work as the first addition. “David Borgerding’s sculpture was recently exhibited in our ‘Second Nature’ show,” she said. “We had gotten such good response from the exhibition it was hard to take it down.”

Borgerding expressed equal enthusiasm for keeping his sculpture on campus. “This particular piece is one of my favorites and just so happens to be most suitable for an outdoor installation such as this,” he said.

Borgerding went on to say that he believes “Tapatawpa” is the most dynamic piece of his collection, with its own special energy.

Kvet said of Borgerding, “He’s a great artist. I think it was very kind of him to do this.”

All the people involved in bringing the sculpture to campus expressed excitement to see the new project come together.

“David’s sculpture will not only add to the space visually, it will also activate the space,” Schleh said. “Outdoor pieces give students an opportunity to have something to gather around.”

Borgerding agrees, calling the sculpture garden a “fantastic” idea.

Barbie Cure can be reached at [email protected].