:: Russ RuBert: press ::

Heart Cast in Steel
Sculptor Russ Rubert uses international acclaim to help build the Springfield scene
Springfield News-Leader

by Sony Hocklander

Sculptor Russ RuBert was a whiz at math and science at Glendale High School. So his math teacher couldn't understand why he chose art over engineering. But art was his passion. And today, the sculptor's works appear nationwide and in Japan.

In Springfield, his pieces include a 22-foot-tall stainless steel sculpture at Southwest Missouri State University and a 21-foot-tall brass sculpture at the St. John's Mid-America Cancer Center.

But RuBert, who serves as president of the Springfield Area Arts Council, seems to work as hard at promoting art as he does creating it. He and his wife, Pam, have been active leaders with a variety of arts organizations. Beyond Springfield, he's member of the International Sculpture Center, a nonprofit organization that publishes Sculpture magazine, holds educational conferences, promotes the arts and recognizes achievement.

On Nov. 8, RuBert was elected to ISC's executive board, joining a list of prominent sculptors from all over the world. RuBert is honored by the appointment that will give voice to his ideas on a larger scale. And he was a little surprised, considering most of the other artists on the board are from larger cities on the East and West coasts and abroad.

"I'm the token Midwesterner," jokes the soft-spoken artist. That's not how sculptor Rob Fisher sees it. Fisher, a board member since 1996, does large-scale work, most recently for the Philadelphia International Airport.

"A number of us, including myself, recognize the contributions (Russ) has made regionally in your area. We were also very impressed with the work he's done internationally and felt for all those reasons he would be a wonderful addition to the board," Fisher says.

Springfield Art Museum Director Jerry Berger sees RuBert's appointment as a plus for Springfield.

"That board is composed of people who are prominent in the sculpting world. They have grand projects and work on a national scale. ... It's a distinct honor to be on it," says Berger, who's known RuBert for more than a dozen years.

And RuBert's connections are likely to rub off on Springfield.

"(Russ) could very well host that board in a meeting In Springfield. ... That would be a tie-in to that league of prominent artists in the sculpture world. And it always helps to have friends, especially in the arts," Berger says.

"It kind of puts Springfield on the map," says local artist and SMS professor Jerry Hatch. "I know other people on that board that are very famous in their field. ... Albert Paley is one of the people on that board and he's internationally known—in the art world, (he's) a household name," he says.

RuBert thinks his position may help hin better serve local arts.

"Having gone to those conferences, seeing what other people have done in their communities leads me to want to see what we can do in my community," he says.

Together, Russ and Pam RuBert have been active in the arts for years—volunteering for the Springfield Art Museum and helping to build better relations between Springfield and sister city Isesaki, Japan.

Through his Springfield Area Arts Council position, RuBert is leading efforts to retool the cultural plan and turn an old creamery into an arts center in Jordan Valley Park. He also serves on the board of the Missouri Citizens for the Arts.

His business sense and analytical mind are assets to his leadership, says Pamela Anderson, SAAC executive director. "He's one of those unique people that's both left- and right-brained," she says. "He's extremely intelligent and extremely creative. And you don't meet people like that very often."

Evolution of an artist
Upon entering his 23,000-square-foot studio, there's no need to guess where RuBert's heart is.

Stainless steel tiles in the foyer announce his favorite medium, Inside, bright textured walls, a brass table RuBert created and multiple stainless steel sculptures complete the front offices where computers dominate.

In the back, a sculpture workshop looks like a construction site, filled with saws, sanders, drills, welders and more. A 60-foot crane behind the building is just one of the artist's tools.

Pam RuBert says it's no wonder her husband was drawn to the kind of sculpture he does. He could always visualize three-dimensional shapes and forms in his head, even as a young child.

And as a student, he was really interested in science along with the art.

"But he saw people going into engineering and tracked towards this techie thing, and that wasn't for him. But because of that interest he leaned toward sculpture. There's a lot of engineering involved. It's an interesting combination, really," she says.

At the Kansas City Art Institute, RuBert focused on environmental sculpture.

Now he worked primarily in metals, most often stainless steel.

But his public installations still relate to the environment and the people who will view it, RuBert says.

"If you just build it for the owner or administration (who commissioned the work), you don't really have the right audience in mind. ... Environment can make a difference in how it's perceived," he says.

A case in point is the brass flame sculpture in the cancer center.

"I built it for someone getting treatment, or someone visiting someone getting treatment. A lot of people call it really inspirational sculpture," he says.

Many of his kinetic, free-form pieces are interactive, with parts that are people- or wind-driven. In addition to the works in Springfield, His sculptures have been commissioned for Walt Disney Children's Arts Festivals and as permanent public installment for convention centers in Japan and Dallas. He was recently commissioned to complete a piece for a town in North Carolina.

What's unusual about RuBert's works is his use of technology, via two computers, to design his pieces. To his knowledge, no one else designs with his method, which takes both a PC and a Macintosh.

Demonstrating on his computer, he starts with a gesture drawing. "I translate that basic shape to an outline, then to a 3-D shape and twist it and manipulate it and then I pull the walls off it."

Meaning, he transforms it into a pattern he can cut with a computer-aided machine.

RuBert also defies convention by fabricating his own designs, rare for someone who works in metals.

"He has a pretty major studio. It's a bit unusual. A lot of people, famous sculptors, farm out to a sheet metal company. I think it's unusual he does so much of the work himself" Hatch says.

RuBert can't work any other way.

"My depth of craft is really so high. ... And it's important for the artist's hand to be in the work," he says. "Otherwise it becomes kind of sterile."

Translating the vision
RuBert's dual interests in technology and art are evident in the other businesses he shares with his wife, including a multimedia art company through which they collaborate on major research projects. In one project, they created an art-based communication program for chimps. That and other projects were featured in National Geographic, Nova, Discover, Time and Newsweek.

It's his skill with computer programming, in addition to his art, that led the ISC board to name him Internet Committee Chairman.

The Web site he helped design lists board members, upcoming conferences and links to information about sculptors and their work. And it provides an open forum for discussion, which RuBert also designed.

The Web site gets 50,000 hits a day, RuBert says. And that should only improve.

"We kind of envision for it to be the center of all things sculpture," he says.

Working on the ISC board is an important step for RuBert, who first became involved in the group to network with other sculptors he respects. "I¹ve just been really fortunate to meet the great artists of our day," he says.

RuBert and wife Pam are assets to the organization says Fisher.

"They're just very humanistic, concerned, dedicated, humble and very generous with their talents."