Sculpture Illustrates "Past, Present, and Future

SOCORRO -- "The Past, the Present, and the Future" of New Mexico Tech can now be viewed at an area just north of the university's newest building, Workman Center.

The bronze sculpture, composed of a grouping of three larger- than-life statues depicting a miner, a scientist, and a studious child, was recently put in place at the location by their "mother," local artist Sharon Fullingim.

Fullingim concedes that she developed a sort of "maternal attachment" to the commissioned work, simply because "the pieces were part of [her] life for the past 18 months.

"I'm torn between excitement and sadness now that I have to wave good-bye to them," she says.

"Artists put a lot of themselves into their work," Fullingim explains, "and when a particular piece is finished, it's almost like watching your children go off to their first day of school. . . . It's a very emotional experience."

Fullingim and several workers from the Tech Physical Plant spent the better part of Thanksgiving Day putting up, properly placing, and securing the statues at their new, permanent "home," a location which the Luis Lopez sculptress describes as "a natural campus crossroads."

Funding for Fullingim's realistic sculpture was obtained through New Mexico's One Percent for the Arts program as part of the Workman Center construction project.

"The Past, the Present, and the Future" was chosen by a committee in early 1996 as the frontpiece to the new Workman Center facility from a field of four finalists.

Fullingim used her niece as a model for the "Future" portion of the sculpture--a little girl reading her books--but says that the other two pieces, the miner with his shovel and the scientist holding a prism, though extremely lifelike, are actually composites of studies she made in preparation for the work.

"The guys up at the Tech Physical Plant were just wonderful to work with," Fullingim adds. "I'm indebted to them to no end."

Santa Fe Bronze did the casting for the sculpture, and Fullingim also compliments their work: "They're a small outfit, but they're very good at what they do."

Landscaping around the statues and Workman Center will soon be completed; and, a formal dedication for both the newest building and sculpture on the New Mexico Tech campus currently is being planned for sometime before the university's commencement in May.

-NMT-

George Zamora