October 2004		Vol. 23 No. 8
A publication of the International Sculpture Center

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From the Chairman

Membership is the lifeblood of the ISC. We exist to serve our members, and, in turn, we rely on a growing membership base to fund the services that the ISC offers. We are pleased to announce that Johannah Hutchison has joined our staff as membership coordinator. She will immediately develop a five-year membership plan focusing on a new benefits package and specific ways to increase membership. Johannah is experienced in all aspects of membership, and, to add icing to the cake, she loves sculpture. Feel free to send her a note at membership@sculpture.org if you have any ideas for her.

One of the key ways to increase membership is through affiliation with regional sculpture organizations. In early June, we signed a preliminary affiliation agreement with ISC Europe. In July, Mary Catherine Johnson and I visited a new Chicago area group. We had a great evening thanks to the hospitality of ISC Board member Mary O’Shaughnessy and her husband Charlie VanGuilder. Bob Emser, the principal organizing member of Chicago Sculpture International, reports that almost 50 members were signed up that night and that the number of sculptors in that area exceeds 1,500—exciting stuff for the Chicago group and the ISC. See page 80 for more information about this new affiliation.

Our 2004 student awards are featured in this issue. We are extremely proud to sponsor these awards together with Grounds For Sculpture: it is very important to identify and celebrate the next generation of sculptors. Students apply for this recognition through numerous university sculpture programs. We thank all those faculty members for partnering with the ISC to encourage the participation of a growing number of students each year.

The ISC has scheduled two important events this fall. By the time this issue reaches you, we will have just completed our Spiral Jetty Weekend. Together with the Salt Lake Art Center, we planned this trip to afford interested members the opportunity to experience Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty first hand. We thank ISC Vice Chairman Josh Kanter and SLAC director Ric Collier for putting this fantastic experience together. Looking ahead, on Halloween weekend, we will hold two events in New Orleans: the Fall Sculpture Symposium and the Patron Recognition Gala honoring Sydney and Walda Besthoff. Both of these events have limited space, so visit our Web site www.sculpture.org for more details and contact us today if you wish to attend.

One of the ways that artists support the ISC is through contributions to a sculpture collection that we in turn sell, with the proceeds going to fund ISC programs. I want to thank former ISC Chairman and current Board member John Henry for not only organizing this year’s “Backyard Collection” but for also contributing the first work. Other contributing artists include Fletcher Benton, Bernar Venet, and ISC Board members Russ RuBert and James Surls. We thank you all for the substantial commitment that you have made to the ISC. Please visit our Web site <www.sculpture.org> to view this wonderful collection.

Robert Duncan
Chairman, ISC Board of Directors

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