What's Big Bend?

Sculpture near JSOM isn't religious symbol

MONYA BONDADA Mercury Staff

Wandering near JSOM, you might find yourself face to face with a tall and looming brown sculpture. Is it a cross? Nope, it’s Big Bend. What is it and where did it come from?

This 5000 pound and 23 feet tall steel sculpture, valued at almost half a million dollars, has traveled a lot despite its massive size, and took 2-3 days to install on campus. Donated to UTD through an art campaign hosted by JSOM in 2014 to get more art for its once barren halls, this sculpture was installed in 2018 and has been one of UTD’s most curious pieces of artwork since. Though its shape resembles a cross, the sculpture itself has no religious affiliations.

Originally created by artist Mac Whitney, Big Bend was meant to be part of a DMA (Dallas Museum of Art) exhibition. It was later bought by Lucille Murchison, a wealthy Texas oil heiress, who had a massive art collection. The piece finally reached JSOM through an anonymous donor, who obtained the sculpture after Murchison passed away.

“We felt that the management school needed art in it, because we needed to develop in our students a symbiotic relationship between art and business… we raised enough money to purchase some sculptures in our courtyard, like the owl,” Diane McNulty, the Associate Dean of External Affairs in JSOM, and the person who handled the donation, said

The sculpture was built in a factory with Mac Whitney, the sculptor who is part of a renowned Dallas group of artists called The Oak Cliff Five, and 12 other people in 1976. Whitney had to use cables and pulleys in order to create bends at the top of the sculpture, resulting in its name, Big Bend.

This sculpture’s resemblance to a cross was also heavily deliberated before being installed on campus, as UTD is not publicly affiliated with any religious groups or organizations. McNulty and other university administration did not feel as though this piece had any religious affiliations and believed that it was simply a unique creation by an artistic individual.

“We really encourage our students to be well rounded and appreciate the art that has been given to this school,” McNulty said.