UAH Sculpture Program to collaborate with UA and UAB on new art trail

Chris B. Taylor, Assistant Professor of Sculpture at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is one of three inaugural recipients of the new McMahon-Pleiad Prize, given by the Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama (UA) System. The Board established the prize to honor Trustee Emeritus John J. McMahon, Jr.

The McMahon-Pleiad Prize advances collaboration in the UA System, consistent with the vision and leadership of Trustee Emeritus McMahon. The prize includes a $75,000 one-time award, underwritten by the McMahon family, which will be shared equally among the three UA System art departments to cover the cost of project materials and related expenses.

Visual arts faculty members Chris B. Taylor (UAH), Craig Wedderspoon (UA), and Stacey Holloway (UAB), who are working with student teams, lead the McMahon-Pleiad Public Art Trail Initiative. Each of the three UA System campuses will design and create a public sculpture that visually enhances the campus.

At UAH, Taylor will lead students in the design and creation of the outdoor sculpture for the art trail. In addition, Taylor said, the three outdoor pieces would rotate every two years, and then returns to their originating campus for permanent installation. All sculptures are scheduled to be unveiled next June.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Taylor attended Ohio State University and studied sculpture. His studio practice includes drawing, model making, and fabricating in wood, metal, and ceramics, all of which are augmented using technology.

Taylor received an MFA in Sculpture from the New York College of Ceramics at Alfred University. He has shown work at Socrates Sculpture Park in New York City and has a permanent sculpture installed in Montevideo Uruguay. To view more of Taylor’s work, please visit: walkingcubes.com.

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