Texas Southern University

TSU Sculptures

Item Set

Items

• Shrine #2 Maquette Created by Harry Vital for Ceramics Class with Professor Carroll Harris Simms
  Vital's maquette appears to portray an intersex human-chicken hybrid, which displays both male and female sex organs. The artist adorned the sculpture with swirl embellishments, a common motif in TSU terracottas. Vital would go on to make a full-scale version of this sculpture.
• Architecture Terracotta
  Lacy’s terracotta tower sculpture features cut-outs throughout the body. The top bears an abstract, smiling face with conical ears. The work is decorated with spirals and rolled balls of clay, both of which are among the signature embellishments used by students of Professor Simms. Lacy features this sculpture prominently in her Hannah Hall mural.
• Self-portrait
  This sculpture is of an unknown figure. The sculpture has a piercing facial expression, and displays protruding veins near the brow line and a direct stare from the eyes. The crown is adorned with a spider and the outline of a web along the scalp. The design may have been inspired by Spiderman, who debuted in comics 8 years earlier.
• Self-portrait
  This bust is a self-portrait of the artist. Jones depicted his face with sharp features, high cheekbones, and protruding veins near the brow line. The crown is adorned with spiral motifs, dots and rolled clay. Atop is a shrine structure, with a reptile within. Students were encouraged to adorn their self-portraits with additional embellishments.
• Shrine Maquette Created by Harry Vital for Ceramics Class with Professor Carroll Harris Simms
  Harry Vital’s maquette is similar to his shrine terracotta sculptures, made up of expressive layers. The base is flat with a rounded shoulder featuring circular windows and connected lines; there is a snail at the front. Upwards, the next layer's walls are closer connected with spiral cones extending outward. The top is a two-headed serpent-lizard.
• Simplistic Mother and Child Maquette Created by a TSU Student for Ceramics Class with Professor Carroll Harris Simms
  This terracotta maquette is of a woman cradling a child in her arms. The woman is featured unclothed with simplified features. The circular base supports the structure with spiral motifs throughout. The crown of the head is topped with layered rings to indicate hair texture. The mother and child theme is prevalent in TSU’s terracotta collection
• Self-portrait
  Leon Renfro’s bust is unique within the Texas Southern sculpture collection. It is one of only two busts made from a white plaster (as opposed to the standard terracotta material). The sculpture is also rather bare, lacking the intricate embellishments and ornamentation that are typical of the work of Carroll Harris Simms’ students.
• Sea Lion Maquette Created by a TSU Student for Ceramics Class with Professor Carroll Harris Simms
  This maquette is a largely realistic depiction of a sea lion. The sea lion is adorned with swirls, the most common visual motif used by Simms' students in their sculptures. The final, full-size version of the sculpture contains even more embellishments that the maquette lacks.
• Self-portrait
  Davis's sculpture depicts a stylized version of the artist's head and neck, with a removable crown-piece. The crown looks like a turtle with an insect atop it. The neck, crown, and forehead are all adorned with swirls, the most common motif in the terracottas of Simms' students.
• Self-portrait
  Morris's sculpture depicts a stylized version of the artist's own head and neck. As was required by Professor Simms, the artist adorned her self-portrait with swirls on the neck and rear of the scalp. The bust's blue hue is unique within the Texas Southern terracotta collection.
• Abstract Couple Maquette Created by a TSU Student for Ceramics Class with Professor Carroll Harris Simms
  This maquette shows a human-like couple with enlarged heads and hands. The artist suggests their intimacy by joining their lower bodies together. The full-scale sculpture features finer details, such as modified head shapes, embellishments, and greater use of negative space.
• Abstract Maquette Created by a TSU Student for Ceramics Class with Professor Carroll Harris Simms
  This is an abstract work featuring adornments like swirls, eyes, and pyramids. Professor Carroll Harris Simms' terracotta tradition was inspired by the shrine sculptures of the Nok and Ife peoples of West Africa. In diasporic contexts, the sculptures' significance evolves.
• Yoruba Woman
  This kneeling, beaded woman is a product of the Yoruba people in West Africa. The woman has scars on her face, braids, and is covering her breasts. The woman's colorful beaded jewelry suggests she has a higher status in society, yet her posture shows humility and servitude.
• Senufo Man
  Along with the Senufo woman, the male counterpart is heavily covered with facial and body markings as he is regally seated on a decorated stool. The man is holding a spear and his postiche, or false metal beard, is prominent while his upright posture asserts his status.
• Senufo Woman with Child
  The intricate work of a seated mother and child, possibly royalty, originates from the Senufo people in West Africa. Detailed body modifications and scars cover the mother's body as she calmly looks out to the audience, as the child on her left leg is cradled close to her body.
• Unknown African Figure
  This is a simple work of a richly colored woman featuring a geometric face with oval eyes, a triangle nose, and a prominent square mouth. The sculpture has African origins yet the specific ethnic group is unknown because of the lack of body markings and hair adornments.
• Luba Woman
  The sculpture created by an unknown artist is a Luba sculpture from the Democratic Republic of Congo of a pregnant woman holding her stomach. The Luba are a matriarchal society and often create art centered around women placing emphasis on their importance in their society.
• Cat Maquette Created by a TSU Student for Ceramics Class with Professor Carroll Harris Simms
  This maquette, created by an unknown Texas Southern University art student, shows a feline creature at attention. There are various swirl patterns and depth points on the figure.
• Lone Figure Maquette Created by a TSU Student for Ceramics Class with Professor Carroll Harris Simms
  This maquette was created by a Texas Southern University art student. It is a lone figure with defined arms.
• Multi-sided Female Shrine Maquette Created by a TSU Student for Ceramics Class with Professor Carroll Harris Simms
  This is a maquette, created by am unknown Texas Southern University art student. This maquette displays a stout figure with various swirls on the body. The swirls are a required component for the maquette project.
• Mother and Children Maquette Created by a TSU Student for Ceramics Class with Professor Carroll Harris Simms
  This maquette, created by an unknown Texas Southern University art student, shows a mother tightly embracing one or two children. The theme of the mother and child was a recurring one amongst the students of Professor Carroll Harris Simms, the ceramics instructor at TSU.