Steel a glance at the newest installation.
Story and photos by Jonah Hinebaugh
Over the summer, 20-year-old Darnell Henderson stumbled his way into an internship – literally.
Henderson and his peers were having dinner at the studio of USF St. Petersburg associate professor Erika Greenberg-Schneider and her husband Dominique Labauvie when he knocked over a sculpture and broke it.
Instead of reacting with anger, Labauvie offered to mentor him in welding and sculpture building.
For a month, Henderson worked alongside Labauvie to create a mass of manipulated steel that, while lying flat, may seem nothing more than that. But prop it up on the wall, and music notes form in the shadow of the steel.
Henderson said it serves as a visual representation for a lyric from a Thomas Moore song.
Labauvie was born in France but relocated to Tampa after marrying Greenberg-Schneider. He’s had his work featured across Europe and the U.S., and in 1997, he was commissioned by the City of Paris to create a large cast iron sculpture at the entrance of the Park of the Villette.
“Most days, I began by showing him any work I did prior,” said Henderson, a junior graphic design major. “We go through the process, receive his critiques, and work through those.
“In the afternoon, I’ll begin to actually work in the studio, welding, putting the pieces together, kind of taking what I did in the morning – the conceptual piece – and then beginning to actualize that.”
The artwork went through three phases: deconstruction, reconstruction, and simplification. With the help of Greenberg-Schnieder, Henderson found out the day before classes started that it would be installed in Harbor Hall – replacing the decades-old Dalí portrait that once stood on the wall facing the entrance.
On Sept. 5, Labauvie, Henderson and others gathered in the lobby as the duo assembled the piece and drilled it into the wall.
“It was a good time working with Dominique,” Henderson said. “He respects your space and your process. He’ll be there to support and instruct me if I need it, but most of the time, it’s me working independently, which I really appreciate.”
While USF St. Petersburg has plenty of public art projects featured on campus, none have been done by a student. Labauvie said the piece is a dedication to teaching and creating art, and something to exhibit in the building that houses the visual and verbal arts programs.
“The sculpture is more strange and mysterious than what you see on the street,” Labauvie said. “You feel the strength and resistance of the material fight against gravity. It’s more important to perceive than to understand.”
Henderson said his internship is ongoing and the two will continue to create together, but the fact his first welded piece will be seen by all who walk through the building brings a smile to his face.
“It’s quite nerve-racking, I know people will see it,” he said.
“But I think for me on a personal level, I’m really happy about it. It makes me smile looking at it, just knowing that I created that.”
This article was updated on Monday, Sept. 9, to correct the title of Erika Greenberg-Schneider. She is an associate professor of graphic design, not an adjunct.
