The University of Regina wants to reconnect with a frog sculpture

The iconic frog sculpture, located on the College Avenue campus of the University of Regina, is currently undergoing extensive restoration work.

This frog, built over 50 years ago and attributed to Saskatchewan sculptor Joe Fafard, has suffered severe weather damage over the years.

Professor Fafard relied on the collaboration of 10 students to create this sculpture.

But before revealing the restoration, the University of Regina wanted to track down ten student artists, who helped create the frog when Joe Fafard was hired to teach sculpture in the late 1960s.

Joe Fafard, a community art enthusiast

Wendee Kubik, a former student still remembers Joe Fafard. The latter, 26 years old at the time, became an art professor at the School of Art on the Regina campus of the University of Saskatchewan.

Joe Fafard is very democratic in everythingwhere is Wendee Kubik. He is deeply involved in the community, body and soul. The frog was an idea he had, but everyone had to buy it. This is not something he imposed on us.

He was a pretty cautious man, but very profound reminiscence of Wendee Kubik, who participated in the project to create the iconic frog.

Si Ms. Kubik is a retired professor of women’s and gender studies. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus.

Many observers believe the frog creation was inspired by fellow funk sculptor, David Gilhooly, a ceramist from San Francisco.

Joe Fafard taught with Gilhooly, whose main artistic style was funk sculpture, a movement that originated in California in the late 1960s.

With information from Deanna Patterson