The Legend of the Horned Frog Statue
By Antoinette Vega
Skiff Staff

Every time Brad Thompson walks by the steel horned frog statue, he kisses it for good luck.

“It is natural for me to kiss the horned frog statue,” said Thompson, a sophomore Student Foundation member. “I even kiss the statue while giving campus tours, which the prospective students think is kind of weird.”

A gesture such as this is not uncommon as students walk past the statue each day. It has become the backdrop for thousands of pictures each year and a campus landmark.

Everyone is aware of the horned frog sculpture sitting upon a pedestal between Sadler Hall and the Student Center. What everyone is not aware of is the man behind the sculpture, artist Seppo Aarnos.

Photo Illustration by David Dunai/Skiff Staff

The idea for a sculpture began in 1984 with the Permanent Improvements committee of the House of Student Representatives. Muffy Hodges-Watson was the chair of the committee at the time and was the main spokesperson for the project.

“We wanted a sculpture that would represent the spirit and heritage of TCU and an artist with close ties to the university,” said Watson. “We interviewed many artists but chose Aarnos.”

Because he was from another country, when Aarnos was approached about creating the mascot sculpture in 1984, he first had to find out what a horned frog looked like. He was eager to do the job especially since his two daughters Lana (Aarnos) Oviatt and Reba (Aarnos) Franklinattended TCU. Oviatt graduated in 1986 and Franklin in 1988.
In the beginning, many students did not support the project.

“People had a hard time accepting it before they actually saw it,” said Watson. “Now they love it.”

Before the idea of a statue was brought before the House of Representatives, it was presented to the Student Government Association executive board and approved by the financial committee. After the project was presented to the House it was put on hold two times before it was approved.

Susan Adams, associate vice chancellor and dean for campus life, was the SGA sponsor at the time and remembers the process for the project.

“The SGA is a conservative financial body careful with their spending money,” said Adams. “The (two-week time frame) allowed each representative more time to inform and gather opinions from their constituents in order to obtain a fair vote.”

The new frog statue allowed for the expansion of the mall area between Reed Hall and Sadler Hall and for the symbol of TCU to be visible by students and the surrounding community.

“We had no trouble getting the project of the horned frog sculpture approved by the administration,” said Watson. “The only demand of (then) Chancellor (William) Tucker was that the frog must have horns so that the SMU guys would not be able to ride it.”

It took Aarnos two to three months to create the sculpture in his studio, located in Georgetown, Texas. He only charged the Student Government Association the cost of the building materials, which was about $4,000. He brought the sculpture in a trailer from Georgetown to Fort Worth and bolted it down in its present location. The dedication ceremony took place in 1984 and the sculpture has been standing for 17 years.

The TCU horned frog sculpture is not the only work of art Aarnos has created. In fact, he is a very well known artist in the state of Texas. The house where he lives with Valerie, his wife of 44 years, resembles a mini art gallery. Sculptures and paintings surround the walls and corners inside and outside. He even made his mailbox into an abstract sculpture.

Aarnos was born in 1937 in Jyväskylä, Finland. He came to the United States with his family during the 1950s. They decided to settle in Chicago, literally picking the city out of a map. Shortly after meeting his wife, Aarnos received a bachelor’s degree from Lake Forest College in Illinois and a master’s degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago. In 1982, Aarnos and his wife moved to Georgetown, Texas because of the warmer climate.

“I was installing a sculpture for a business during the cold weather of Chicago when I decided that I had had enough,” said Aarnos. “The nice weather was the main reason for the move to Texas.”

They moved to Fort Worth in 1989 and presently live in North Richland Hills.
Aarnos has been influenced by various places, including Europe, where he lived and was surrounded by art. Creating art is something he has always wanted to do.

“When I was three years old I was making planes and ships,” said Aarnos. “Art has always been a way of life for me.”

Aarnos has used his way of life to create sculptures for businesses, churches and private citizens, using varied materials such as steel, ceramic, bronze, and concrete. One such creation is the 18-foot tall steel sculpture titled “Rendezvous” in front of the Ridglea Country Club. He is often a guest speaker and has spoken at numerous universities including the University of Texas at Austin, TCU and most recently the Covenant Christian Academy.

Aarnos has frequently taught art courses to students ranging from 7 years old to adults. He was given the Texas Art of Education junior high teacher of the year award in 1993 while teaching at Young Junior High in Arlington. He also takes art classes occasionally to learn new art techniques and styles, and currently has 50 hours above a masters degree.

Aarnos’ work has been featured in the book “Portfolios” by Robyn Montana Turner giving readers a view of his stainless steel sculpture for the company CSI.

Presently, Aarnos works as an artist. He obtains his ideas through his dreams, then wakes up and creates them. Businesses seek him out for his creations. Most of the art that is displayed in his art gallery home is for sale. He will even visit a customer’s home to create a piece of art especially for them.

“I will visit someone’s home and talk with them about their family and their style tastes for about 30 minutes,” said Aarnos. “Then I draw them a sketch of what I think they want and most of the time they love it.”

Aarnos’ work ranges from under $2,000 to over $100,000.

“I don’t hike up the price per customer to make more money,” said Aarnos. “I don’t have a big ego, I would rather many of my pieces be out there rather than only a few because of outrageous prices.”

Aarnos says that his dream is to be featured in an art history book and that someday he may even write a book of his own.

Antoinette Vega
a.c.vega@student.tcu.edu

TCU Daily Skiff © 2002