Liza Blair, Chattanooga State's Outdoor Museum of Art Curator and Museum Specialist, gathered the small group that visited the campus on Sept. 9, to walk part of the Outdoor Museum of Art.
On a sunny yet cooler and breezy morning she led the group from the Amphitheater toward the Humanities building stopping along the way to view various sculptures displayed on campus.
Blair said the entire Outdoor Museum has 20 sculptures across five acres. She said the museum has been around for several decades, and we were going to walk and view just a small sample trekking a little under a mile of campus terrain.
Blair said the museum is open to the public for free.
Our first stop was a sculpture called the Missing Piece by Brett Hunter. Created using granite and steel, the sculpture invites you to contemplate what could possibly be missing. Blair encouraged us to use our imagination and to touch the sculpture to feel the difference between the materials utilized.
Next, we walked over to a sculpture by Dan Millspaugh made of steel and bronze. It had no title but looked like a small structure, in my opinion, teepee like where straight sheets of bronze held up other pieces of bronze leaning against them.
We walked over to a sculpture called Lazarus and Persephone by Be Gardiner. Blair said it was made from Tennessee Pink marble which is more like fossil-rich sedimentary limestone quarried exclusively in East Tennessee. Blair explained that Lazarus and Persephone are two famous figures from different traditions who both symbolize the cycle of death, return, and rebirth. In the Bible Lazarus is raised from the dead by Jesus. Persephone returns from the underworld to the earth each year to bring back the spring in Greek mythology.
The Outdoor Museum of Art features three pieces by former UTC Associate Professor of Art Jim Collins. Two pieces are part of his famous “Watcher” series, silhouette metal figures seemingly watching and protecting their surroundings. The third piece on campus is called Deer Crossing featuring a deer perched on a tall crossing sign with a gun’s scope carved into his body with three other deer on the ground in the brush.
We viewed a geometrical sculpture called Leonardo’s Device by Skip Van Houten which paid homage to Leonardo da Vinci’s inventive mind. Next to that is a piece called Watch Your Head by Gordon Chandler. It looked like an industrial playground in bright yellow and made of steel.
We walked around the pond looking for the ducks who were on the opposite side enjoying the cool water. Blair walked us over to a newly arrived sculpture that was brought from the Bluff View Art District and is still in the process of being permanently installed.
We finished the brief tour at Helix 60, a sculpture installed in August 2026 to celebrate the college's 60th anniversary. It was Created by UK artist Tony Stallard and has a mirror like finish with affirmations carved on the inside and out.
Blair said they are working on creating a map people could use to take self-guided tours. She encouraged the group to share the news about the Outdoor Museum of Art for others in the community to enjoy. We walked just a small portion of the museum. There is a lot more art to see. It’s a great way to see some amazing art while also getting your steps on for the day.