Public art’s influence, Escalette’s support lauded at Tuesday naming ceremony

Maggi Owens, curator of Phyllis and Ross Escalette Permanent Collection of Art.

A university’s public art is not just about sculptures on the lawns or oil paintings in administration buildings, but also dialogue, thought and inspiration, said Joanne Corday Kozberg, a trustee of The J. Paul Getty Trust, speaking at Tuesday’s naming ceremony for the Phyllis and Ross Escalette Permanent Collection of Art at Chapman.

“Public art has become the icon that helps a campus convey its values and its spirit,” Kozberg said before an audience gathered in Waltmar Theatre.

Besides creating a sense of place and a welcoming environment, public art prompts discourse, she said.

“When we like it, it delights us, and when we don’t it leads to discussion,” she said.

Kozberg was the keynote speaker at the ceremony, which honored Phyllis and Ross Escalette for their support of the collection and celebrated the tireless efforts of curator Maggi Owens. Owen’s work and reputation were chief among the reasons he and his wife chose to support the Chapman collection, Ross Escalette said. Over the years Owens and Chapman have built a collection encompassing some 700 pieces, roughly valued at $1.4 million.

Owens’ main tools?

“A lot of hard work and a ton of arm twisting,” Escalette said.

Owens said she was humbled by the high praise.

“It’s probably the highlight of my life,” she said. “I know that (the collection) will stay there as a legacy and that I leave something substantial that makes a difference to people’s lives.”

The newest addition to the collection, “Sinister Minister” by artist Jason Adkins, was also unveiled at the event.

David Lee, assistant to the curator and adjunct professor of art.

Chapman’s permanent collection is becoming one of the premier university collections in Southern California, with special emphases in African art, Russian iconography, and prints by modern American and European masters such as Rauschenberg, Lichtenstein and Nauman.

Take a virtual tour of the collection here on the Phyllis and Ross Escalette Permanent Collection of Art Facebook page.