AESTHETIC shift
Statues of children to replace pump jack at State Land Office
SANTA FE — A replica pump jack outside the State Land Office — a monument to New Mexico’s oil and gas industry — is headed for San Juan College.
State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn, a Libertarian whose term ends at the end of the year, said Monday that he is donating the pump jack “to ensure that the next administration doesn’t destroy or desecrate this important symbol.”
The piece — featuring a red Zia symbol — is a working model of an oil and gas pump jack. It’s powered by solar energy for demonstration purposes.
Dunn had the pump jack installed outside the land office in 2015, within a year of winning the election. It replaced a sculpture called “Brickface Hope” — which Dunn said he didn’t like.
The Brickface sculpture moved to Santa Fe River Park, not far from the plaza. It’s part of the state’s permanent collection of public art.
And now Dunn hopes to install life-sized bronze sculptures of children on the State Land Office grounds — a symbol of the role state trust lands play in funding New Mexico’s public education system.
The pump jack, in turn, will be loaded onto a trailer — at Dunn’s personal expense — and the commissioner will transport it personally to San Juan College, in Farmington, in the energy-rich Four Corners region.
“I refuse to let this sculpture ... be sacrificed at the altar of political gamesmanship,” Dunn said.
Dunn is running for U.S. Senate this year — facing Democratic incumbent Martin Heinrich and the Republican nominee, Mick Rich — rather than seek re-election as land commissioner.
Competing to become the next commissioner of public lands are Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard, Libertarian rancher Michael Lucero and Republican former Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons.