In June 2011, the University of Iowa's T. Anne Cleary Walkway received a special delivery — "Ridge and Furrow," a massive sculpture created by British artist Peter Randall-Page.

The piece combines a random, natural element — a 19-ton granite boulder from Cornwall, England — with a structured element— a raised ridge that forms a single, continuous line winding around the rock's surface.

Randall-Page traced a pattern in charcoal and paint, then carved the furrows. He tailored the piece to its setting and to his conception of the university as a whole, seeking to put "the right object in the right place."

The university purchased the piece as part of the Art in State Buildings Program, which requires that one-half of 1 percent of a project's cost fund acquisition, preparation, and installation of public art.