Art Professor Commissioned for Sculpture Honoring 19th Amendment

Sarah Deppe’s “We Rise” Honors 19th Ammendment

Sarah Deppe, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Art and Art History, recently installed a public sculpture at the Black Hawk County Courthouse in Waterloo, Iowa. She was commissioned by a civic committee assembled to select an artist to design a sculpture to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, which recognized the fundamental right of women to vote.

Professor Deppe says the sculpture, entitled We Rise, “is symbolic of the growth of women’s rights,emphasizing the diverse women that have contributed and those that are still working toward equality. This sculpture is composed of female profile silhouettes. The diverse women portrayed are of both the past and present, merging together all the women fighting for equal rights. The silhouettes of women’s profiles are stacked in an upward movement. The profiles get larger as they rise to emphasize this growth.” The identities of the silhouetted women remain anonymous, in order to “not simply commemorate a few women, but be representative of all fighting toward equality.”

Sarah Deppe earned her Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Northern Iowa. Her work is an investigation of the constantly changing urban landscape. She is interested in how objects and materials within our urban space shift and warp our interaction with the natural world. Sarah has shown in many juried shows throughout the nation including: Chicago, IL, Des Moines, IA, Chattanooga, TN, and Oak Park, IL. She also has permanent installations at Texas A&M University and Coralville, IA to name a few. She is currently creating in Madison, WI, and has taught sculpture at Beloit College since spring of 2020.

By: Scott Espeseth

January 28, 2021