SPARTY

Since I had to be in East Lansing for a meeting this morning, I spent some time wandering the blip rich Michigan State University campus this afternoon. This is the famous Sparty statue. I've wanted to blip this for some time now and I couldn't have asked for a nicer day for it.

From the MSU website:

"The Spartan" statue, designed and produced by MSU assistant art professor Leonard D. Jungwirth, has a permanent home inside the atrium of the Spartan Stadium tower. The 9-foot-7 ceramic figure weighs approximately 6,600 pounds, including its base. In 2005, the sculpture was relocated to protect it from the elements.

"The Spartan" was dedicated on June 9, 1945, at the intersection of Red Cedar Road, Kalamazoo Street and Chestnut Road. Popularly known as "Sparty," the statue remains one of the favorite photo subjects of campus visitors.

In 2005, an exact replica of the original terra cotta sculpture - now cast in bronze - took up residency on the plaza located at the north end of Demonstration Hall Field. The molds for the bronze statue were made from the original sculpture. The new statue was cast in bronze at the Artworks Foundry in Berkeley, Calif.

As part of MSU's sesquicentennial celebration, the bronze "Sparty" was dedicated on Oct. 8, 2005. Donors contributed approximately $500,000 to pay for all work related to the new sculpture, including the plaza.