University of Dallas News

Issue date: 11/25/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment

• Not too far from the University of Dallas, just down O'Connell from Highway 114, there is a cement clearing in the midst of the Las Colinas skyscrapers. In this open area, called Williams Square, eight enormous bronze horses constantly stampede through a glowing pool of bubbling fountains. The larger-than-life stallions, named "The Mustangs" by their artisan, evoke images of the good old frontier days that seem so lost in metropolitan life.
• The Mustangs at Las Colinas World are the world's largest equestrian sculpture. Standing beneath one of the bucking horses, one would not be surprised to hear this fact. The powerful and enormous creatures, though unimposing from afar, prove to be awe-inspiring if not intimidating up close. Cast to be about one and a half times the size of the already large horses of the old Great Plains, the shining bronze beasts evoke a feeling of chaotic sublimity, whether they are jumping down into the pool below, dashing out of it, or bucking up behind it.
• Robert Glen was given the task to design the terrifying sculpture in 1976, but he did not begin to make the actual models until he had completed a year of researching the actual animals and experimenting with different poses for them. The sculpting and casting were not complete until 1981 and the whole sculpture was not in place until September 1984. They delay was worthwhile, as the Mustangs are arguably the most memorable landmark in Las Colinas.
• The details on the horses are amazingly intricate. Even the veins on the intense faces are visible. The stampeding hooves, piercing eyes, and flowing manes all have astoundingly lifelike textures to them, easily discernable from the short bronze fur that makes up the majority of the statues. Under the feet are individual fountains that give the illusion of splashing. It is clear that no effort was spared in giving this sculpture a feeling of reality.
• Despite the terrifying nature of the stampede, Williams Square is one of the most peaceful places that a student at the University of Dallas can escape to. With all the realism, expansion, and motion that the statues suggest, the mere fact that the Mustangs are actually frozen leads the viewer to feel that all the bustling, overcrowding, frightening aspects of life have frozen with them. One can walk straight underneath one of the immense bucking bronze horses and stare it in the face without a twinge of fear. Life comes to a halt, and the viewer can walk slowly and breathe carefree amidst the inactive chaos.
• On a cool night the pool beneath the horses is illuminated with a faint yellow and blue glow. Williams Square is usually quite empty next to the comparatively small sculpture in the middle. The flatness of the clearing generally brings a cool wind with it. Despite the nearby places of business and industry, a piece of the wilderness is captured many yards from any of the surrounding sky scrapers.
• If you have not yet been to see the Mustangs of Las Colinas, I highly recommend that you do. It is only five minutes from campus by car, and with final exams on the horizon an escape to a peaceful and sublime place can be the perfect prescription for restoring mental health. Whether you go by yourself or with a few friends, you must go and experience it.

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