Spinoff - Auburn, AL
Posted by: xptwo
N 32° 35.266 W 085° 29.012
16S E 642324 N 3606602
Located in a reflecting pool in front of the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, Auburn, Alabama, this sculpture captures ones eye during the walk from parking to the entrance.
Waymark Code: WMHA2B
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 06/13/2013
Views: 5
The artist, Jean Woodham, is an Auburn University alumna, class of 1946, and donated the statue to the art museum. The plaque by the sculpture tells the story:
The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art
Auburn University
Spinoff
Sculpture, 1993
by Jean Woodham
Gift of Jean Woodham '46
in memory of
Marcus Morton Woodham '25
Alma Clements Woodham
The following from the museum web site gives more information:
"Jean Woodham, ('46), an Auburn alumna and noted sculptor, generously donated her 11 ½' tall brass sculpture, Spinoff. Composed of striking geometric forms, the sculpture complements the sleek modern lines of the museum design. Woodham is one of the first artists to apply industrial methods to create monumental outdoor sculpture. Instead of creating a model and then entrusting the final development of a piece to fabricators, Woodham translates her models in her own Westport, Connecticut studio." source: (
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There will be a display of Jean Woodham's works from June 1 to October 12, 2013.
"Full Circle: The Sculptures of Jean Woodham
June 1- October 12, 2013
Chi Omega-Hargis Gallery
As part of the museum’s 10th year anniversary focus on sculpture, JCSM will present an exhibition of the work of acclaimed artist and Auburn University alumna, Jean Woodham. The selection of pieces in this exhibition reflects her long and successful career as a sculptor, which began in the late 1940s. Woodham is noted for her large-scale public sculptures, two of which are featured on the university campus: Spinoff, sited at the entry of JCSM, and Monody, located outside the Goodwin Music Building.
Woodham’s earliest works were often small, simplified figurative forms in stone, clay and wood but her true virtuosity as a sculptor developed as she mastered welding in the early 1950s and began to produce an expressive range of abstract forms and shapes that often relied on surface texture to engage the viewer. Later, smooth planes and linear forms that describe space and visual movement increasingly characterized her work. As her technical abilities evolved, Woodham eschewed the usual process of producing a maquette, which was then passed on to an industrial fabricator to carry out the project. Instead, she donned a hard hat, protective earmuffs and goggles to cut, hammer and weld the bronze, brass, steel and copper herself. In a time when women artists were omitted from art history surveys and rarely afforded the opportunity to exhibit their works or receive commissions, Jean Woodham defied the norm." source: (
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