New quad statue sparks debate

A light blue eagle statue recently erected on the northeastern corner of the Quad has garnered attention from Utah State University students and staff.

The eagle is part of a larger collection of statues appearing around campus. They were installed without labels, leaving passersby to wonder where they came from, who created them and what they are meant to represent.

When senior Thomas Floyd noticed the statue, he thought it felt out of place and out of alignment with the Utah State identity.

“Aggie Blue is Pantone 539, and [the statue is] more of a sky blue, so it doesn’t really fit that,” Floyd said, “and we’re not the Eagles — we’re the Aggies.”

Floyd said he looked into USU’s brand standards regarding the Quad and art installations but couldn’t find anything specific.

“There’s a USU Quad district plan from 2014 that says that the Quad district should remain the heart of Utah State University, conveying a distinct image and identity rooted in the history of the campus,” Floyd said. “To me, the eagle just doesn’t feel like it really has anything to do with Utah State.”

As a photographer, Floyd said he thinks the statue disrupts the Quad’s aesthetics and noted that its welds are beginning to rust. 

“The discussion that I’ve heard around it, and people’s main concern, is that it is a gateway to adding other things like that to the Quad and other historic parts of campus that don’t actually have anything to do with our identity as a university,” Floyd said. “It’s less about the eagle itself and more about what it represents as a gateway to future installations.”

After sharing his thoughts with friends and peers who seemed to agree, Floyd started a petition for the statue to be relocated. As of Aug. 27, the petition had received 66 signatures.

“I personally am a big supporter of the arts in general,” Floyd said. “I like having more art on campus. I say the more, the better, but location is the important thing.”

According to the deputy director and curator of contemporary art at the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Jeff Lambson, the location of this statue is intentional. 

“Because it’s the 250th anniversary of the United States, part of the reason for having the eagle over there is to celebrate USU’s role in the story-making and the history of America,” Lambson said. 

Lambson said the Quad was once a site for mandatory military drills and military parades, and the buildings surrounding it were army barracks during World War I. 

“It’s inspired by the eagle on the United States quarter, where its head is sideways in profile, and its wings are spread wide and almost touching the ground,” Lambson said. “On the other side of the quarter is George Washington, and so you see these two sculptures together, and they are on either side of the United States quarter.”

Lambson said the statues don’t have labels yet because the installation process is happening in stages. 

“That is the difficulty in a big show like this, where these pieces are so heavy,” Lambson said. “We have to use a crane for every one of these.”

The eagle and the other statues like it were created by artist Mike Whiting, and Lambson said they plan to install about 10 of them across USU’s Logan and Price campuses. They are temporary and will only be around for this academic year. 

“The plan is to officially open the exhibition when school starts, so by then we’ll have the labels that explain everything,” Lambson said. 

When asked if NEHMA would consider relocating the statue, Lambson said it’s a conversation they would be willing to have. 

“When people start thinking about what it’s about, which is the job of a museum,” Lambson said. “Our job is to help interpret artworks, so that’s one of our jobs is to get that text out there so that people can see.”

Lambson said the feedback they’ve received so far has been positive, and he hopes the labels will help clarify confusion as to why the statues are where they are. 

“I love that people are paying attention and thinking about this, and art is not about necessarily liking it,” Lambson said. “It’s really about thinking and engaging and pausing to say, ‘What is this artist trying to get me to think about?’”