From wikipedia:
"William Crutchfield was born in Indianapolis where he earned his B.F.A. in painting from the Herron School of Art and Design in 1956. He received his M.F.A. from Tulane University and later returned to Herron to teach foundation studies and advanced drawing from 1962-1965. A former Fulbright Scholar, Crutchfield is an internationally known artist working in a variety of mediums, from drawings, paintings, and lithographs to monumental sculpture. He has been featured in exhibitions around the world, with works in collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the Tate, London.
Former Dean Valerie Eickmeier, Herron School of Art and Design, has said of the artist:
“William Crutchfield has a whimsical and satirical approach to art that is at once humorous and thought provoking. The body of his work emphasizes trains, ships, aircraft and other things mechanical, yet there are many quirky figures, animals and other tangents on display throughout the decades. The range of scale and mediums he uses—from small notepad line drawings to six-foot watercolors to 28-foot tall wooden sculptures—qualify him as true multi-media artists.”
Crutchfield has said of his work:
“One of the most important things about my work is imagination. Everything in the composition is necessary, and it’s alive. I draw a complete idea (hopefully). Every dot, every line is in the right place. And that’s something I think about. The finished work should have multiple levels of expression. I think drawing is the root of everything including sculpture and after you’ve drawn for so many years, you just think that way.”
Crutchfield died April 20, 2015, in his home in California."
Alphabet Spire IV is one of a series of four sculptures. The other four are:
Punctuation Spire - Indiana University
Countdown - Short Hills Mall, New Jersey
Wish - Marley Station Mall, Maryland
"Alphabet Spire VI is located in Westfarms Mall, Farmington, Connecticut. The work, composed of the letters A to Z, was the first created in the series, and is 32 feet tall. It was installed in the mall at its grand opening in October 1974."
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