Have you ever driven by Andrew T. Crawford's sculpture “Split” on East Campus Road and wondered what a giant metal screw taller than a human is doing on the side of the road? “Split” is part of the museum’s collection, one of several sculptures you can find outside the building, on the grounds. Over the years, it’s become a directional landmark.
The work first appeared on campus in 2006 alongside eight of Crawford's other "ordinary" objects for a walking sculpture tour placed around the Performing and Visual Arts Complex. After venturing to other institutions, the sculpture returned to UGA in 2008 and took up its permanent home on East Campus.
Crawford’s work often transforms the tools for making sculptures into sculptures themselves. This massive 500-pound screw cleaved almost in half demonstrates themes that run through much of the artist's work. Crawford alters the ordinary, making everyday objects feel less "rigid" and more "human" by twisting, pulling or splitting them into new shapes.
Crawford was born in Chatham, New Jersey, but grew up Atlanta, where his grandmother encouraged him to make art. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design, then returned to Atlanta and opened his workshop and studio, the Andrew T Crawford Ironworks.
Crawford makes ornamental ironwork as well as large-scale sculpture, and you may have seen one of his many gates around Athens at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia or in Atlanta at its botanical garden and the Atlanta History Center. You can find his website at ironisking.com.
