The first of five sculptures created by internationally renowned artist Robert Arneson for permanent public display on the campus of the University of California, Davis, will be dedicated at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20, at the entrance to Shields Library. Arneson, widely credited for helping to establish ceramic sculpture as a serious art form and inspiring the funk art movement, retired in June after almost 30 years as an instructor in the UC Davis Department of Art. The campus's Art in Public Places Committee has commissioned Arneson to create five sculptures as public art for installation at various campus locations. Arneson has agreed to deliver the remaining four sculptures at the rate of about one per year. The site for Arneson's first piece, titled "Bookhead," is Shields Library, chosen in recognition of Arneson's outstanding teaching skills, acknowledged recently when the UC Davis Academic Senate awarded Arneson its Distinguished Teaching Award. Arneson said he regards the commission to create the sculptures as an honor. "It's a privilege to give back to the campus, where I created a lot of works of art for many years. The university allowed me to be me. I sort of grew up there as an artist." Arneson chose to base the five sculptures on the motif of "egghead," the slang label denoting intellectuals in general and academics in particular. Arneson said he chose the theme after he rode his bicycle around the campus to "get a sense of the place, what the campus is about." The sculptures will depict eggheads in different contexts: at rest, play, work, and in discussion. The figures will be neither male nor female but will, like many of his sculptures, contain a wry sense of humor, Arneson said. "I want them to have a certain spirit." "Bookhead" is a gift to the university made possible by private donations and the generosity of Arneson. Most of the $25,000 cost covers the foundry casting, the artist's time, materials, shipping and installation. If sold through the gallery that represents Arneson, the sculpture would cost between $125,000 and $140,000, according to Jim Wockenfuss, chair of the Art in Public Places Committee. The dedication is organized by Nelson ARTfriends, a volunteer organization that works to support the campus's Richard L. Nelson Gallery, as well as its art department. Prior to the dedication ceremony, Arneson will discuss the sculptures he is creating at a brunch to be held for charter members of Nelson ARTfriends. For information on becoming a charter member of the group, contact the Nelson Gallery at (916) 752-8500. "One of my original observations of this campus was that there is no public art," Wockenfuss said of his arrival at UC Davis six years ago. "At other college campuses, art is a much more integral part of the environment." Cornelia Schulz, professor and chair of the UC Davis art department, said, "The most important purpose of public art is to lift our spirits, keep us in touch with our higher aspirations. It reminds us of our own creative capacity and brings into our collective environments a sense of visual pleasure. Whether or not we like a piece of art that is placed to serve the public, it can engage our thinking, make us wonder and possibly make us argue and debate -- all worthy human exchanges and communication." She likens Arneson's "Bookhead" to "a visual poem, a metaphor. It provokes us, invokes our sense of wonder and our questioning spirit. It does not distance itself from us with lofty abstractions. It invites us to participate in our life." In commissioning the Arneson sculptures, the committee is preserving the legacy of several UC Davis art instructors whose tenure roughly coincided with that of Arneson, said Wockenfuss. Although relatively unknown when hired at UC Davis, art professors such as Manuel Neri, Roy DeForest, Wayne Thiebaud, William Wiley and Roland Petersen developed into respected artists of international stature. In the process, UC Davis' art department earned a reputation for vitality, variety and quality, as well as becoming a highly sought-after choice of graduate art students. To increase the presence of public art on campus, the committee has received funding from campus administrators to commission pieces on a yearly basis. The money comes from private sources to be used at the discretion of Chancellor Theodore L. Hullar. Besides adding to the number of public artworks on campus, the committee hopes its purchases will encourage private -more- 3-3-3 Arneson Sculpture Dedication organizations and individuals to offer works of art for public display on campus, or money to be used for that purpose, said Wockenfuss. "Public art is not a frill, it is an integral part of an academic environment," said Wockenfuss. "It is stimulating, and encourages intellectual development." Parking lots 6, 10 and 11 are nearby the dedication site. Parking is free on Sundays, and handicap parking is available in all campus lots.