Boise State art professor Alfred Kober designed Fledgling Flight, a COR-TEN steel sculpture, in 1971. At the time of the work’s creation, the campus had only recently been named Boise State College, so the artist represented the school as emerging, about to take flight. Funds for Kober to create the piece came from a federal grant with the Higher Education Facilities Act for the Library Learning Center. Similar to the Spirit of the Bronco, this sculpture uses intentional rusting to relate the natural concept of a “fledgling” with the oxidization of metal. Kober furthered the symbolism of the “fledgling” by lining up the tail of his piece with the stretch of hills where United Airlines placed their first landing strips. Originally located next to the library, the work moved from its original location to make room for the library expansion.
Written by Rachel Taylor, Summer 2019 intern