Palouse Columns, a commissioned sculpture by Seattle artist Robert Maki, will be dedicated at noon Monday, Sept. 29, on the lawn northwest of Thompson Hall. The event is open to the public.
The tight grouping of six painted steel columns set in an irregular pentagon formation will be lighted at night. Maki envisions the sculpture becoming a casual “gathering place.”
“This project links my earliest work in art to the region that shaped my ideas and images, and it is an opportunity for me to site a sculpture in an environment that has played a critical role in shaping my art,” said Maki, a Walla Walla native.
The Columbia River, the rolling Palouse landscapes and the geological evidence of the giant basalt slabs with their fractured shadows all have contributed to his art. The piece integrates Maki’s signature wavy-edged line and pentagon exploration from the mid-1960s.
Maki’s sculpture joins 10 outdoor artworks on campus. Each by different artists, they were acquired through the Washington State Arts Commission’s Art in Public Places Program. The first was dedicated in 1976.
The campus also has 12 other outdoor art pieces funded privately, including a statue on the side of Holland Library, commissioned in 1949.
Maki is a Western Washington University graduate. He earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in 1966 from the University of Washington.
His abstract sculpture has been widely honored for its integrity and strength. Maki has worked on 30 public and private commissions and installations in the Puget Sound area and in national and international collections.
