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March 25, 2004

Cultural imagery comes to life in UH professor’s work

By Mike Emery
Staff writer

The image of the American farmer will soon have a highly visible presence on the University of Houston campus thanks to a new addition to the campus’ collection of sculptures.

“Sodbuster, San Isidro,” by UH professor of art Luis Jimenez, will be installed next to the Fine Arts Building today. Standing at 7 feet tall and extending 24 feet long, the colorful fiberglass construct depicts an ox-drawn plow driven by a white-haired farmer.

The piece, which was created in 1981, is being transplanted from the Irving Arts Center in Irving, Texas, and will be on long-term loan to the university from Jimenez, who teaches courses in public sculpture and figure drawing each spring.

“It’s very representative of my work, and I’m happy to see it arriving at the university,” he said. “I think it’s an image that’s very much a part of our culture both as Americans and as Texans.”

Cultural imagery has long been an influence on Jimenez’s work. His sculptures have blended such disparate subject matters as wildlife and working-class heroism. “Sodbuster, San Isidro” integrates these themes with its graphic depiction of an elderly yet athletic farmer commanding the powerful oxen.

“The campus and system art acquisition committees are pleased to bring a work by such an internationally known artist to UH,” said Nancy Hixon, assistant director of Blaffer Gallery, the art museum of UH and coordinator of university collections. “This is a major addition to the university’s public art collection.”

“Sodbuster, San Isidro” was originally commissioned by the city of Fargo, North Dakota, with grant support by the National Endowment of the Arts. According to Jimenez, there are six versions of the sculpture located around the country, including sites at Wichita State University and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Another of Jimenez’s works, “Vaquero,” has become a longtime favorite public sculpture in the city of Houston. The sculpture depicts a cowboy atop a bucking horse and has remained in front of Moody Park since 1982.

Currently, the artist is beginning another project that will be on display in Houston, a replica of social activist Cesar Chavez for Cesar E. Chavez High School.

Jimenez’s flair for creating public sculptures stems from his belief that art should be integrated in people’s everyday lives. This philosophy impacts the theme of each sculpture so that Jimenez is able to strike a chord with audiences from all walks of life.

“I try to work on projects that function on several levels,” he said. “I work with images that are inspired by our culture. They’re not esoteric things that are difficult to understand. They’re things people can relate to.”