''Spirit Keeper'', a public sculpture by American artist Steve Wooldridge, is located on the

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th st ...

campus, which is near downtown

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. The sculpture is located in front of IUPUI's HITS building near the Creation Café at 337 West 11th Street. ''Spirit Keeper'' is a steel sculpture installed here in 2007. It is 78 inches tall and sits on a metal base 40 inches square, which is bolted to a cement slab.

Description

''Spirit Keeper'' is a stainless steel abstract sculpture consisting of a leaf-shaped form perched atop a form that is rectangular at the bottom at narrow at the top. These two pieces are welded together to create the sculpture. The entire sculpture is 78 inches tall and sits on a metal base 40 inches square, which is bolted to a cement slab. The surfaces of the sculpture are shiny stainless steel but have been lightly sanded to create a pattern in the steel. There is an inscription on the proper left side of the sculpture in the lower proper right corner, which reads "SPIRIT KEEPER, S. WOOLDRIDGE, 2007." The sculpture's design was approved by the Board of Trustees of Indiana University on September 21, 2007. It was donated to IUPUI by Norma Winkler. Prior to its installation on campus, the sculpture had originally been displayed outside of Norma Winkler's private home in Indianapolis It is located in front of IUPUI's HITS building near the Creation Café at 337 West 11th Street. The design was approved in 2007, but it is unclear when it was actually installed.

Inspiration

The Winkler family had been the principal owners of Rock Island Refinery on the city's northwest side. After the plant was sold to

Marathon Oil Company The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

in the early 1980s, Wooldridge salvaged the stainless steel used for the sculpture from dismantled portions of the refinery. The sculpture's inspiration was a large flare in the center of the plant that burned 24 hours a day, burning off lighter byproducts of refined crude that had no commercial use. The iconic flare could be seen burning at night from a great distance. Wooldridge's sculpture is meant to freeze the dancing movement and ever-changing look of that burning flame.

Artist

Steve Wooldridge specializes in abstract and minimalist site-specific sculpture. He was born in Sheridan, Indiana and studied 3D Design and Sculpture at the Dayton Art Institute and sculpture technique at what was then the Herron Art Institute, now the

Herron School of Art Herron School of Art and Design, officially IU Herron School of Art and Design, is a public art school at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a professional art school and has been accredite ...

, graduating in 1963 with a degree in Sculpture. He has extensive experience in welding, fabrication and finishing of ferrous, non-ferrous metals, and exotic alloys through training with the US Navy. Wooldridge is a member of the Artist Blacksmith’s Association of North America. Fifty-two pieces of his

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

ing work were exhibited at the Wells County Creative Art Center in

Bluffton, Indiana Bluffton is a city in Harrison and Lancaster townships, Wells County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 10,308 at the 2020 census and the estimated population is 10,390. The city is the county seat of Wells County. History Blufft ...

during their “Forged Art! The Art of Blacksmithing” exhibit in 2007. In 1971, Wooldridge completed a sculpture of the 38th Infantry "Cyclone" Division of the Indiana National Guard to be exhibited in the Indiana World War Memorial Plaza. Another one of Wooldridge’s sculptures, ''

Zephyr In European tradition, a zephyr is a light wind or a west wind, named after Zephyrus, the Greek god or personification of the west wind. Zephyr may also refer to: Arts and media Fiction Fiction media * ''Zephyr'' (film), a 2010 Turkish ...

'', is also located on the IUPUI campus.

Documentation

A Museum Studies course at IUPUI recently undertook the project of researching and reporting on the condition of 40 outdoor sculptures on the university campus. ''Spirit Keeper'' was included in this movement. This documentation was influenced by the successful Save Outdoor Sculpture! 1989 campaign organized by Heritage Preservation: The National Institute of Conservation partnered with the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

, specifically the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

. Throughout the 1990s, over 7,000 volunteers nationwide have cataloged and assessed the condition of over 30,000 publicly accessible statues, monuments, and sculptures installed as outdoor public art across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

References

{{IUPUIPublicArt Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis Public Art Collection Outdoor sculptures in Indianapolis Culture of Indianapolis 2007 sculptures Steel sculptures in Indiana Stainless steel sculptures in the United States 2007 establishments in Indiana Abstract sculptures in Indiana

Description

Inspiration

Artist

Documentation

See also

References