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WIU alumnus V. Skip Willits, of Camanche, IA, created two of the 11 pieces in the third installment of the public art project on display in and around Macomb's downtown.
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Downtown Sculpture Project Features Two Works by WIU Alumnus

June 19, 2018

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MACOMB, IL – With the placement of the sculptures in the third edition of a public art project in and around downtown Macomb, come two pieces completed by WIU alumnus V. Skip Willits, of Camanche, IA.

Willits graduated from Western in 1978, with a degree in fine arts teacher education. He has been a professional artist since graduation, "with a stint as a firefighter along the way."

His pieces, "Red Road Home" and "LaGrange Point," are two of the 11 pieces in this show, which will be on public view for two years. All of the pieces were installed in May and June.

"Red Road Home" was placed in the green space just north of the Macomb square and is sponsored by the WIU Foundation, and "LaGrange Point" was placed at the Macomb Public Library and is sponsored by McDonough District Hospital.

"'Red Road Home' is made with weatherized steel," said Willits. "I was walking along the road one day when I overheard a street shaman praying to the East, South, North, West and to the 'good red road home.' Liking the sound of that last bit, I used it as the title for this piece. 'La Grange Point' is made with stainless steel. Between everything there is a halfway point. A place to meet in the middle, common ground."

After learning to weld from his father, Willits learned how to work with a variety of metals. He completed his first outdoor sculpture in 1983, and his work has been featured in many outdoor sculpture exhibitions. He said his sculptures explain his life, and his ideas come from his experiences.

The sculpture project began in 2016 as a partnership between the University and the city of Macomb. The initial idea was born from a 2015 meeting between WIU Associate Professor of Art Duke Oursler and Macomb Downtown Development Director Kristin Terry.

Each artist in the exhibit is paid $1,500 to display their work. Other artists included in the exhibit include Ben Pierce, of Cape Girardeau, MO; Carl Billingsley, of Greensboro, NC; Chris Wubbena, of Jackson, MO; Douglas Gruizenga, of Interlochen, MI; Glenn Zweygardt, of Alfred Station, NY; Andrew Arvanetes, of Dekalb, IL; Mike Sneller, of Cedar Rapids, IA and Ron Gard, of Chicago.

Seed money for the project was provided by the Macomb City Council and sponsors for this round of sculptures include MidAmerica National Bank; Citizens Community Bank; a division of Morton Community Bank; the Performing Arts Society (PAS); Tom and Gayle Carper; McDonough District Hospital; Key Realtors; Terrill Title; Commercial Rental and the WIU Foundation.

Terry said this round of exhibits will be up for two years, running through May 2020. Each of the pieces is for sale and the city receives 20 percent of the proceeds of any of the pieces sold.

"The Downtown Sculpture Walk is away for the community and visitors to view art in a very dynamic way," said Terry. "It brings the community together to stroll downtown to view the art, eat and shop. Our exhibition has brought a lot of attention to other communities that are over an hour away that just love the idea of this project and want to bring it to their communities as well."

For more information about the exhibit, contact Terry at (309) 575-3015.




Posted By: Jodi Pospeschil (JK-Pospeschil@wiu.edu)
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