Sojourn

James Russell
American, b. 1938

Sojourn, 1991

Stainless steel, 13' x 16' x 2'5"

The Utah Arts Council, Percent-for-Art Program Purchase

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James Russell’s elegant, ribbon-like sculpture Sojourn is located on the north-east side of Old Main Hill. Russell has earned several fine arts degrees, including an MFA in Monumental Sculpture from California State University in Long Beach. He specializes in the creation of large-scale works made exclusively from polished stainless steel. Almost like a gust of wind or a lightning bolt frozen in movement, Sojourn appears to change throughout the year as its reflective surface mirrors the changing seasons of northern Utah. Its title means "a temporary stay,” which parallels the time each student spends on the campus of USU. Over the past five decades, Russell has garnered a national reputation for his sculptures made for private commissions and public art programs. Sojourn is an example of the latter; Russell made it for Utah’s Public Art Program. Founded in 1985, the program designates one percent of construction costs from a new or renovated state public building for site-specific artwork at the facility.