Need to ward off evil? Try rubbing UNLV's own "Talisman." The sculpture's name comes from a Greek term for a stone or charm that brings good luck and averts evil.
In 1990, the steel sculpture by Colorado artist Kevin Robb was installed on the lawn in front of the university's old library— now the James E. Rogers Center for Administration and Justice. The sculpture was installed by the UNLV Foundation in honor of longtime board member Elaine Wynn.
"They saw an advertisement of my husband's work in a gardening magazine and contacted him about buying a unique piece to honor Mrs. Wynn," said Diane Robb, wife of the artist and manager of Kevin Robb Studios. "Once they saw the Talisman they said, 'This is the one.'"
A stroke one year ago left the sculptor unable to speak, but he is still working in his Colorado studio. Without using a plan, he creates his unique pieces by twisting and molding individual sheets of metal and then welding them together. It takes him about six weeks to fabricate one sculpture.
His numerous installations can be seen at the University of Kentucky, Upper Iowa University, and the Borgota Resort Casino Spa in Atlantic City, N.J.
