T-R PHOTOS BY SUSANNA MEYER — The steel sculpture known as the “Seven Cubes” that used to reside on the west lawn at Marshalltown Community College was relocated on Tuesday morning. The new location is closer to the main entrance of the campus and will hopefully be more visible to both the community and students.
A large steel sculpture known as the “Seven Cubes” has stood on the west lawn of Marshalltown Community College since it was first installed in 1988, but it found a new home on Tuesday morning as it was moved closer to the main entrance to be more visible to both students and community members.
The piece was designed by the now deceased artist Luther Utterback, and before it was installed at MCC, it resided on the grounds of Wartburg College in Waverly. A group of art lovers in Marshalltown were able to bring the sculpture to MCC through their hard work and donations back in the 80s, and Utterback himself oversaw its installation.
While the sculpture is made up entirely of cubes, it is arranged in anything but a uniform way. Some of the cubes are partially buried in the ground — leaning in different directions — and some of the cubes are stacked to create a playful or even whimsical appearance.
MCC art faculty member Tim Castle supervised the sculpture’s move on Tuesday morning and was able to direct members of the crew from Pro Commercial LLC on how to arrange each piece in order to stay true to the sculpture.
Because of all of the changes to the west lawn at MCC with the new construction and landscaping, Castle felt moving the sculpture was a necessity. He also felt it was often overlooked in its original location.
Marshalltown Community College Art Faculty member Tim Castle offered guidance on how to position each individual piece of the “Seven Cubes” sculpture and referenced his clipboard for the correct placement of each cube.
“There was a feeling that they weren’t appreciated in their original location over there (on the west lawn) and by placing them closer to the front entrance, there will be more interaction with them. People will see them very regularly and be able to move amongst and around them, and I think that’s important,” Castle said.
Castle felt that having that new visibility would be wonderful, and the artist would have wanted the sculpture to be seen. In its new location, drivers looking east when they pass the college as they travel down South Center Street can easily see it. This will make it more accessible to the community at large instead of being restricted to just students.
“I think the artist, Utterback, really wanted people to have this relationship with them and also this dialogue, this visual dialogue, you might say, whereas over there — they looked great in their previous location, but, for many people, they didn’t know they were there and here, they will. They won’t miss it in this new spot,” Castle said.
The sculpture is an important installation for the MCC campus for a couple of reasons, according to Castle. For one, Utterback was a fairly big name in art, and while he was born in Texas, he moved to Iowa early in life and spent a great deal of his career here, mostly working out of Iowa City. Thus, having an art piece designed by Utterback is exciting for MCC.
The artistic construction of the “Seven Cubes” was something else that Castle felt fit in well on the campus.
The individual pieces of the “Seven Cubes” sculpture sat in a staging area on the Marshalltown Community College Campus on Tuesday morning, waiting to be installed in the new location. The sculpture has resided on the west lawn since 1988, when MCC originally acquired the art piece.
“They are a lovely contrast, and I say juxtaposition, between the rational, the calculated. I mean, after all, they’re geometric blocks, but the way (Utterback) organized them was very topsy-turvy. Haphazard,” Castle said.
When Utterback was overseeing the original installation of the sculpture, Castle said he had commented that the wide-open space available on the MCC campus would make a great location for the sculpture and highlight the cubes throughout all seasons.
MCC Provost Robin Lilienthal also stopped by on Tuesday morning as the cubes were being positioned in their new locations to see how they fit into their new home. Like Castle, Lilienthal felt the cubes were a special part of MCC, and she was glad to see the artwork being placed in a more visible area.
“I think it has really been here for so long and yet it was a hidden gem, and I think that it’s really exciting. It’s special to have Utterback’s work here because, you know, it’s unusual for a college like us to have this famous artist to be able to do things,” Lilienthal said. “What I love about the cubes is that so much interpretation can be made from them, and I think that the whole community will enjoy this, not just our students.”
The seven different cubes were moved individually from the staging area to marked locations, with some cubes being placed in pits filled with gravel so that there would be room for movement to create the “topsy-turvy” appearance that Castle previously mentioned.
A construction crew with Pro Commercial LLC meticulously positioned each cube in the correct place under the watchful eye of Marshalltown Community College Art Faculty member Tim Castle.
Castle and the construction crew worked for several hours to complete the move, and now the “Seven Cubes” have officially found their new home.
Lilienthal couldn’t have been more thrilled that MCC has been able to keep the sculpture on the grounds for so many years.
“Modern art is always so fascinating, because it certainly is up to interpretation and different people love different aspects of it and other people don’t even understand it, but you know what, that’s what it’s all about in higher education. We want to create a conversation,” Lilienthal said.
Contact Susanna Meyer at 641-753-6611 or
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