New artist-in-residence working on Chauncey II
by Prufer
In his artist statement, sculptor Bryan Rapp talks about his interest in the human form and what it means to be human in a world that is not always humane. So it comes as a surprise even to him that he’ll be working on a giant bronze chicken for the next two years.
Rapp, newly hired as the first artist-in-residence for the visual arts program in the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts, has been commissioned to construct a new interpretation of Chauncey.
The 12-foot mascot sculpture, known informally as “Chauncey II,” will greet visitors to Brooks Stadium once that complex is expanded from 9,124 seats to around 19,000 as part of the Chanticleers’ move to the Sun Belt Conference and Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
Rather than moving the current 7-foot Chauncey, the decision was made to create a larger one for the new stadium entrance to be placed near the corner of University Boulevard and S.C. 544, though design plans have not been finalized.
"With two entrances, one on 544 and one into the TD Sports Complex, there was a feeling that we needed a more visible Chauncey for fans entering the football stadium,” said Easton Selby, chair of the visual arts department. “The first Chauncey is slightly larger than life size and more interactive. The new guy will be larger and more intimidating.”
So far, Rapp has been thinking deep chicken thoughts, surrounding himself with chicken pictures and becoming immersed in barnyard lore.
In June, Rapp started to watch the College World Series games on TV after applying for the artist-in-residence position. “At same time, my neighbors got free-range chickens. The chickens would run around in the yard and crow all day. And I thought, ‘these are signs!’
“For Chauncey II, all I’ve heard is ‘go bigger, more buff, more masculine, more fluffy, that’s all I’ve been given,” says Rapp. “So I’ve taken that and run with it. I wanted this Chauncey to stand his ground, not wanting to fight right away, but to be sure of himself, confident, ready to go, proud.”
Selby described the work of art as “re-imaging on a much larger scale,” around 1,500 pounds of bronze, as compared to the original Chauncey of 500 pounds.
An accomplished representational figurative sculptor, Rapp earned an MFA from the University of Oklahoma (OU). He became interested in sculpting as a result of a debilitating disease that ravaged his body. For nine years starting at age 28, he suffered from Avascular Necrosis, which significantly incapacitated him and required two surgeries.
“It was horrible,” he says, now mobile after the last hip replacement surgery. Much of his work represents that “subhuman” feeling of bodies that are dysfunctional. His public commissioned art ranges from a whimsical Frog Prince on the OU campus to a Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial in Bryan County, Ga.
He studied under Paul Moore, a renowned sculptor of the American West. In 2013, Rapp was recipient of a scholarship from the National Sculpture Society. His sculptures are in private collections in his home state of Pennsylvania and in Ohio, Florida, Oklahoma and New Mexico.
Rapp, who is originally from Meadville, Pa., and wife Kerry, from Charleston, W. Va., have been married for 17 years and have two children, Koen, 7, and Kate, 5. They couldn’t be happier to have moved to the beach from Oklahoma. “For 16 years, we have been trying to get back to the east coast,” he says. Kerry is a horticulturalist by trade.
For Chauncey II, Rapp is currently working up drawings and maquettes, small clay representations of the larger sculpture. One of them features a buff Chauncey flashing a “Chants Up” sign with his claw. The maquettes must go through a series of approvals through deans, the provost, up to the president before work can begin. Rapp will teach three classes in connection with the project, including the construction of maquettes, steel armatures and molds. Students will get hands-on experience in all aspects of the sculpting process.
Because of the scale of the piece, the sculpture yard facilities in the Edwards College will have to be expanded and reconfigured to handle the larger pieces.
“Since bronze can last hundreds of years, this sculpture will be a permanent part of this campus,” says Rapp. “It has the potential to generate so many conversations, to be a meeting place, to take pictures there. It will help define the culture here, what it means to be a Chanticleer.”
Chauncey II should be completed in spring/summer of 2018.
