VPA honors late sculptor Rodger Mack with celebration, sculpture unveiling, dedication April 28

Monday, April 16, 2007, By News Staff

VPA honors late sculptor Rodger Mack with celebration, sculpture unveiling, dedication April 28April 16, 2007Erica Blustesblust@syr.edu

Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) will celebrate the life of late sculptor and VPA faculty member Rodger Mack (1938-2002) with a series of events on Saturday, April 28. The celebration will feature the unveiling and dedication of two sculptures by Mack, in addition to other public events and a silent auction of sculpture to benefit the Rodger Mack Fund.

An internationally known sculptor and faculty member in VPA’s School of Art and Design, Mack served as the school’s first director from 1982-91 and taught sculpture for more than 30 years. He was widely known for his bronze and steel sculptures, now part of permanent collections worldwide, including those of the Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona, Spain; the Filancard and Grand Hotel in Guayaquil, Ecuador; the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse; and the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute in Utica, among others. Notable artists Anthony Caro, Bill King, Kenneth Noland and Helen Frankenthaler all traveled to Syracuse to work with him.

“Rodger was easily the most important bronze caster in this country,” says Ludwig K. Stein, professor of painting at SU. “Anybody who knew anything about bronze came here to work in the foundry with Rodger.”

During the April 28 celebration, events open to the public will begin at 3 p.m., with the unveiling and dedication of the two sculptures by Mack at the front door of the Comstock Art Facility, 1015 Comstock Ave., Syracuse.

Other events include:

  • “Comstock Art Facility Open House,” 3:30-8 p.m., Comstock Art Facility. Features juried student exhibition in the Sarah A. Coyne Gallery; first-year student exhibition; anagama and raku kiln firings; and open studios for ceramics, fiber arts/material studies, first-year foundation, jewelry and metalsmithing, printmaking and sculpture programs;
  • “Painting and Illustration Studios Open House,” 4-6 p.m., third and fourth floors, Shaffer Art Building, SU’s North Campus;
  • “Student Exhibition on The Wall,” 4-11 p.m., first floor, Shaffer Art Building; and
  • “Iron Pour” by sculpture alumnus Steve Spatz ’99, 6-11 p.m., Comstock Art Facility Foundry, north end of the building. R.S.V.P. for this event to Mary Giehl at (315) 443-2066 or magiehl@syr.edu.

Free parking is available for the Comstock Art Facility events at the Manley North Lot and for the Shaffer Art Building events in the Q-3 and Q-4 lots.

In addition, a silent auction of sculptures by Mack, Anthony Caro and Jon Isherwood G’87, an alumnus of VPA’s graduate sculpture program, will be held April 28-May 12. Proceeds will help develop the Rodger Mack Fund, which aims to support a fellowship for an incoming graduate student and a regular visiting artist residency for the sculpture program.

Images of the work to be auctioned can be found at http://vpa.syr.edu/index.cfm/page/mack. For information about the auction, contact Jeffry Comanici, VPA assistant dean for advancement, at (315) 443-9727 or jjcomani@syr.edu.

For more information about the Rodger Mack celebration, contact VPA’s School of Art and Design at (315) 443-3700.