by Pete Rosenbery
CARBONDALE, Ill. — An eclipse sculpture designed by Jack Nawrot, a senior scientist emeritus at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, will give campus visitors another way to commemorate the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8.
“Art in the Dark,” an eclipse sculpture by Jack Nawrot of Cobden, will be on display near Saluki Stadium during the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8. (Photo provided)
In addition, a replica of the “Art in the Dark” eclipse sculpture will be raffled off during the eclipse festival as a fundraiser for both the School of Art and Design’s metalsmithing program and the school’s recently established Student Progressus Fund. Jack Nawrot, who worked with the university’s Cooperative Wildlife Research Lab before retiring in 2011, designed and forged the 8-1/2-foot, hand-crafted stainless steel and iron sculpture by Nawrot’s Jackson Forge in Cobden.
On April 8, the permanent sculpture will be on the walkway near the southwest entrance of Saluki Stadium, between the stadium and Banterra Center. A final location for that sculpture will be determined after the eclipse.
Nawrot said the sculpture is designed to be viewed from 10 to 12 feet away to enable viewers to see the eclipse as it moves across the southern sky behind the sculpture. A compass directional faceplate on top of the pedestal is inscribed with spherical coordinates for the beginning of the eclipse, totality, and the end of the eclipse.
Raffle tickets available
Tickets for the replica sculpture are $10 apiece and will be available from School of Art and Design students who will be stationed at the eclipse sculpture at the football stadium. The raffle will end at 3 p.m. The winner does not need be present.
Nawrot said the sculpture comes in two pieces and would be easy to fit in a midsize SUV.
School of Art and Design supporter
Nawrot said that he and his wife, Robynn, have supported the art and design program since 1989 when a former metalsmith student designed their wedding rings. Nawrot said the idea to promote an eclipse-themed art and design fundraiser came during discussions with Robert Lopez, an associate professor in the School of Art and Design.
“After retirement I took a few years of blacksmithing classes with Rick Smith, where I learned a lot about art and fundraising to support students,” Nawrot said. “Hopefully this sculpture will inspire others to support SIU’s artists.”
Nawrot noted that since retirement he has also made numerous decorative gates and railings for friends and relatives, bottle openers and candle holders for weddings and other special events, including fundraising auctions.