The Ulrich Museum of Art’s world-class Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection boasts 86 works spread across the 330-acre Wichita State University campus.
The Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art was established in 1974 to enhance and support Wichita State University's educational and service missions. Then-president Clark Ahlberg believed a superior university should be ever mindful of the thriving city surrounding it. In 1977, he articulated this belief: "We have an obligation to reach as many people as possible and to do it with the highest standards—in this case, the highest artistic standards—if we are to properly serve this urban area." Under the leadership of the Museum's first director, Dr. Martin H. Bush, in the first twenty years of its life, the Ulrich Museum became an integral part of university and community life.
The Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection established in 1972 is a unique and priceless collection recognized nationally for its world-class works of art. It is an integral part of the daily campus experience, creating a powerful and joyful place for WSU students, faculty, staff and the community. The 88-piece Outdoor Sculpture Collection, an extension of the Ulrich Museum of Art’s permanent collection, is a beloved source of immense and justified pride for the University, the City of Wichita, the State of Kansas, and the region. Defining the WSU campus with beauty and distinction, the collection features works by Sofia Vari, Hank Willis Thomas, Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson, Fernando Botero, Alice Aycock, Andy Goldsworthy, Tom Otterness, Deborah Butterfield, Ursula von Rydingsvard and many more. One of Wichita's most significant cultural attractions, the Outdoor Sculpture Collection is always free and always open.
It is important to mention that the Museum received WSU Student Government Association (SGA) funding support for the commission of 22 sculptures in the Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection between 1972 and 2008. Student Fee Funding has transformed our collection and the campus through sculpture commissions.
On April 11, 2024, the 87th and 88th additions to the Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection were erected atop the hill on the north side of the Duerksen Fine Arts Center Amphitheater. Artist Doug Coffin was commissioned to create two new works from his “Spirit Totem” Project specifically for campus. The Project was conceived forty years ago as a symbol of peace and cooperation among nations, with the artist’s inspiration deriving from the totems of the Northwest. Sun and Moon shine brightly in this highly visible location and breathe new life and energy to the site. The gold and silver disks hover 18 ½ feet above the ground, supported by thin steel structures painted in two variations of vibrant blue that mimic the sky. Every element of the sculptures contains symbolic meaning. Coffin has said, “my personal artistic challenge has been to invoke and respect the spiritual intentions and sensibilities of totems … to strive for images that live in the mind long after the reality is gone.”
Coffin hails from Lawrence, Kansas, where his father was a beloved athletic coach at what is today the Haskell Indian Nations University and at the time was a high school and vocational school for Native American students. He also spent time on the nearby Potawatomi reservation where he still maintains connections today. Coffin holds a BFA from the University of Kansas and an MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He has taught art courses at Fort Wright College in Spokane, Washington, and after moving permanently to New Mexico, at the College of Santa Fe and the Institute of American Indian Arts. Coffin’s work is in museums and private collections in Europe, Africa, Latin America and throughout the U.S., including those installed on the campus of Johnson County Community College in Overland Park. In the 1990s, during the Clinton administration, one of his sculptures was temporarily installed on the grounds of the White House. Coffin is the first Native American artist (Potowatomi and Creek) represented in the Outdoor Sculpture Collection. He has specialized in large-scale outdoor sculpture, although his output includes smaller-scale mixed media sculptures, paintings, and prints.
Visitors are encouraged to come by and have their photo taken with these beautiful new sculptures. If you post your photos on social media, be sure to tag the museum (@ulrichmuseum) and use the hashtag #ulrichmuseum.
