Sculpture X-Games

Sculpture X-Games Outdoor Exhibition – November 6, First Friday Art Walk, 6-10 p.m.
The outdoor exhibition will also be on display through the month of November on the ideaXfactory south lot and MSU Brick City south parking lot perimeter, 351 N. Boonville, Springfield, MO. Visitors can read about the artist teams and artistic statements about the work that are posted on outdoor signs next to each sculpture

Sculpture X-Games is a creative sculpture competition for artists and artist teams who were commissioned to create outdoor sculptures. The artists had a month to prepare, then one week to build the sculptures starting on Oct. 2 First Friday. After a week of intensive work, they were judged by Nick Nelson of the Springfield Art Museum, Russ RuBert of the ideaXfactory, and visiting artist Rodo Padilla on the next Friday during the ideaXfest multicultural music and art festival.

Participating artists include faculty and students from MSU, Drury University, and independent and professional artists. Artist awards were donated by The Law Firm of Neale and Newman, The Vision Clinic, and Springfield Sister Cities Association. Visit the outdoor exhibition to see all the artists who contributed to this exciting event!

Inside the gallery, we will also be featuring an exhibition of Rodo Padilla’s whimiscal ceramic sculptures and the Aluminaughty cast aluminum sculptures that were created during the Sculpture X-Games. The Aluminaughty team won The Law Firm of Neale & Newman Heritage Award and was a collaboration of MSU, DU, and SBU faculty and students lead by MSU sculpture instructor Jacob Burmood and included DU ceramics instructor David Cogorno and SBU Chairman of Art Department David Platter (all friends and graduates of the KU MFA program.) Of special significance about the aluminum casting, Burmood says that the last casting was done by MSU over 10-15 years ago. The equipment has been in storage since MSU moved all art and design departments to Brick City, and the process has not been taught for years. To do the Sculpture X-Games metal pour, Burmood built his own furnace and salvaged some of the historical equipment from MSU storage with the help of Carolyn Cardenas, Department Head for MSU Art & Design. The team also purchased their own new safety gear for the Sculpture X-Games, and cast many sculpture designs created by MSU and SBU sculpture students.

The Le Bateau Dela Jordaine was led by MSU Associate Professor Mark LeMair, comprised many of his MSU 3D Design students, and was recognized with The Law Firm of Neale & Newman Award of Excellence for their creation of a metal framed boat clad in burlap and entwined with dried vines. Left upside and slightly tilted on the hill south of the ideaXfactory, the boat is a subtle reminder of the underground Jordan Valley Creek that runs below Water Street. One of LeMair’s students wrote a narrative of the natural history of the native people who once built boats from skins and traveled this and similar waterways over 300 years years ago to accompany the sculpture installation, and the story is posted in the outdoor exhibition.

Over 80 artists participated in the Sculpture X-Games, so there are similar stories of creativity and innovation that accompany all the teams, more than we can write here. Artistic innovation involving students and the Springfield community is what ideaXfactory is all about! Sitting at the edge of the IDEA Commons, ideaXfactory encourages and offers artists to the chance to explore collaborations with multidisciplinary fields of science, culture, psychology and more. Making art and sculpture is more than just having creative ideas, it’s about research, experimentation, and figuring out how to make things work in a way that touches people on multiple levels, both emotionally and or intellectually.

Following are the awards for the Games:

The Law Firm of Neale & Newman
Award of Excellence:
Team: Le Bateau Dela Jordaine
Leader: Mark LeMair

The Law Firm of Neale & Newman
The Heritage Award:
Team: Aluminaughty
Leader: Jacob Burmood

The Law Firm of Neale & Newman
Most Innovative Use of Materials:
Team: Insulators
Leader: Kevin W. Hughes

The Rodo Padilla Achievement of Simplicity:
Team: The Chimes
Leader: Rick Briggenhorst

The Law Firm of Neale & Newman
Aesthetic Innovation Award:
Team: Phoenix Firebirds
Leader: Christine Schilling

The Vision Clinic Emerging Artists Award:
Team: Gebrochen
Leader: Isaac Johnson

The Vision Clinic Most Humorous Vision Award:
Team: Monster X
Leader: Pam RuBert

The Vision Clinic Lasting Impact Award:
Team: MSU Clayworks
Leader: Bekah Bliss

The Vision Clinic Most Original Concept Award:
Team: Kraft Family “Rocktopus”
Leader: Caleb Kraft

Springfield Sister Cities Peace Through People Award:
Team: Art Zone Invasion
Leader: Cathy Russell

RuBert Studios ideaXfactory Collaboration Award:
Team: Garden of Earthly Magic

RuBert Studios ideaXfactory Young Artists Award:
Team: The Super Owl Kids Extremely Awesome Recycled Materials Creations
Leader: Cameron Thomas