Sculpture Project Fact Sheet

The project involved the commissioning of eight American artists to create monumental pieces of outdoor sculpture that were placed at eight roadside park-rest areas across 455 miles of Interstate-80 in Nebraska in honor of the Bicentennial of the United States.

The commissioned artists became artists-in-residence during the creation of their work in the communities along Interstate-80. The communities directly involved included: Sidney, Ogallala, North Platte, Kearney, Grand Island, York, Seward/Milford, Lincoln and Omaha. During their residencies each artist met with local towns-people and participated in activities with schools and colleges in the area. Although committees in Kimball and Cozad were among the most supportive, those sculptures were never erected or installed. A delay created by the legistlature's decision to hold public hearings slowed fund-raising efforts to the point that the proposal was reduced from ten to eight works.

Thomas A. Yates, an executive at Bankers Life Nebraska, a national Life insurance company headquartered in Lincoln, originated the idea of the "455 mile sculpture garden" in 1973 when he was chairman of the tourism sub-committee of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce. Yates, with the support of Norman Geske, then Director of the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, along with the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, proposed the project to the Nebraska American Revolution Bicentennial Commission.

The project was adopted by the Nebraska American Revolution Bicentennial Commission in August, 1973 and was executed with the cooperation of the following groups and organizations:

1. the Artists
2. Nebraska corporations and business representatives
3. the Chambers of Commerce of Kimball, Sidney, Ogallala, North Platte, Cozad, Kearney, Grand Island, York, Seward/Milford, Lincoln and Omaha
4. the University of Nebraska and Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery
5. the Governor, Nebraska Department of Roads, Department of Economic Development and Federal Highway Administration
6. the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Art Association
7. the Nebraska Interstate-80 Bicentennial Sculpture Corporation, a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization formed to further this cause
8. hundreds of Nebraskans who live along Interstate-80

Beginning in October 1974, Art Thompson, Thomas A. Yates, Norman Geske and Forrest Critchfield held meetings in each of the key cities involved in the project along the Interstate . The meetings were arranged through the local Chamber of Commerce manager of each community. Slides of the roadside park-rest areas were shown and all aspects of the project were discussed. All communities were asked if they were interested in participating in the project and if so, if they would provide room, board, transportation, workspace and coordination of the artist-in-residence program. Each of the communities endorsed the project and agreed to support it as requested.

The national art community was informed of the Sculpture Project competition in February 1974. At that time artists were asked to submit the nature of the work they would propose (scale, material, cost and commission), a statement of willingness to participate in a residency program and examples of their work. One hundred-twenty-one responses were received.

On October 1, 1974 three art experts - Wilder Green, Director of the American Federation of Arts, New York, New York; Thomas Maytham, Director of the Denver Art Museum and Joseph Stuart, Director of the South Dakota Memorial Art Center, Brookings, South Dakota - reviewed the sculptors' ideas and rated them on the basis of their past work and their ability to complete large-scale sculpture. The highest ranking forty-six artists were selected and asked to submit final proposals to include: measured drawings, perspective drawings, site selection and a budget outlining cost of materials, equipment and commission.

Thirty-eight artists submitted final proposals - some submitting more than one. Forty-six proposals were received.

In February, 1975 a second group of art experts - Donald B. Goodall, Director of the University Art Museum, Austin, Texas; Stephen Prokopoff, Director of the Museum of Contemporary Arts, Chicago, Illinois and Mary Vercauterren, Associate Director of the Fine Arts Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst - were asked to screen the 46 proposals and recommend ten artists and four alternates (in the event one of the ten could not follow through). At the same time, representatives of the communities that were to host the artists reviewed the proposals and indicated those they preferred. In addition, representatives of the Nebraska Department of Roads and Federal Highway Administration made a review in terms of State and Federal regulations, maintenance, engineering and safety. The Nebraska Interstate-80 Bicentennial Sculpture Corporation then met to review the action taken by the communities, the art experts and the State and Federal Highway Departments. Their recommendations were then reviewed by the State Highway Department which approved the final ten proposals on the basis that they would meet all State and Federal Highway safety, maintenance and liability standards. In May, 1975, following the guidelines established by the State Highway Department, another series of meetings was advertised and held for the general public to attend in all of the areas where the sculpture was being placed. At these meetings actual sculpture designs were displayed and every opportunity was given to anyone who wished to attend to voice approval or disapproval of the project.