![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/files\/2018\/10\/CampusArt-2-677x1024.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Chrys Weedon<\/strong> | Entertainment Editor<\/span><\/p>\n Located in a back corner of the Grove, surrounded by beauty bark and concrete, is Manuel Izquierdo\u2019s sculpture \u201cIberian Venus.\u201d The marble sand once covering its exterior is mostly eroded away, leaving smooth white patches in its curves and crevices. Moss and crumbling concrete remain.<\/span><\/p>\n Installed in September 1975, \u201cIberian Venus\u201d was commissioned, according to library archives, by Western\u2019s student body. Funding was provided by what was then called the Associated Students of OCE, which would be equivalent to ASWOU now. The sculpture was supposed to include a reflection pool at its base, but upon observation, it doesn\u2019t appear to have one.<\/span><\/p>\n Manuel Izquierdo arrived in Portland, Oregon in the 1940s. Izquierdo was born in Madrid, Spain and travelled to Oregon as a refugee from a war-torn Europe. In his career, Izquierdo created 27 corporate and public commissioned pieces and has participated in 25 solo exhibitions. Izquierdo died from illness on July 17, 2009.<\/span><\/p>\n The library archive article titled \u201cOutdoor Sculptures on Campus\u201d reports some controversy among Western\u2019s students upon installation of the statue. It was argued by some students that the final sculpture did not resemble the original proposal approved by the committee.<\/span><\/p>\n Paula Booth, assistant art professor and director of the Cannon Gallery of Art in Campbell hall spent most of her interview brushing leaves, cobwebs and moss off the sculpture to the best of her ability, but there\u2019s only so much one can do if they\u2019re not trained in refurbishing art. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt kind of breaks my heart, to be honest. I feel like it\u2019s so neglected, and it\u2019s by one of Oregon\u2019s most prominent sculptors,\u201d commented Booth.<\/span><\/p>\n In a secluded corner and blocked on three sides by a grassy slope, this sculpture doesn\u2019t stand out, especially now that its white marble sand coating has been reduced to nothing. It can\u2019t be easily seen from the surrounding sidewalks or roadways.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEspecially when you have art outdoors, you need to have it properly cleaned periodically, you need to have it fixed periodically,\u201d Booth remarked after examining the sculpture\u2019s deteriorating state. \u201cIt\u2019s completely not how the artist intended it to be.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n