A sense of place has been described as the experiential and expressive ways places are known, imagined, yearned for, held, remembered, and lived.
During the 1950s and ’60s, I was a faculty kid and frequently accompanied my father, Louis Thompson, associate dean of agriculture (1958-1983), to his office and other locations around Iowa State. The campus became an extension of my neighborhood. As I explored, I encountered Christian Petersen’s works of art on campus many times and again years later as a student at Iowa State in the 1970s.
In 2007, I documented these experiences with Petersen’s beloved and iconic works of art for an essay in the book, “Christian Petersen: Urban Artist, 1900-1934” by Lea Rosson DeLong. His sculptures became a character-defining element in my campus experience and continue to provide a sense of place in my life. The array of his sculptures around campus gives me a special and unique sense of place that I have not found on other campuses I have visited or attended.
As we await the re-installation of Petersen’s iconic Fountain of the Four Seasons (which was removed for restoration in 2022), I imagine others who have experienced the Iowa State campus may have similar placemaking memories.
“Christian Petersen: A Sense of Place in Campus Life” is on exhibition in the Campbell Gallery of the Christian Petersen Art Museum in Morrill Hall from now until July 26. Using models and concept drawings from the University Museums’ collections, the exhibition explores Petersen’s contributions to the place we know as Iowa State and love as Iowa Staters.
I invite my fellow Iowa Staters to share stories and impressions of what makes Iowa State a special place in their lives by visiting the exhibitions on campus or emailing museums@iastate.edu.
Jerome Thompson is the curator of two exhibitions on Christian Petersen currently on display at Iowa State’s University Museums. He retired from the State Historical Society of Iowa in 2015 after serving 33 years.