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Celebrating 30 Years of Eggheads

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The Eggheads, a series of sculptures by artist and UC Davis Professor Robert Arneson, have had a larger-than-life presence on campus since their creation in the early 1990s. Explore their history through news and student views from The California Aggie. The full stories can be found in the library’s online archive of The Aggie.

Want to test your knowledge about the Eggheads? Take our quiz!

Egg-xtra, Egg-xtra Read All About It

The caption below each image links to that article in context in the online archive of The California Aggie.

Newspaper clipping including a photo of Bookhead sculpture, with two students standing by it. One of them is blindfolded.
1991: Bookhead or egghead?
Newspaper clipping with a photo of the "Yin and Yang" Egghead sculpture: the Egghead in the foreground is on its side, the one in the background is upright.
Sept. 1992: Newest Eggheads laid near the Art Building
Newspaper clipping including a photo of Robert Arneson with one hand outstretched toward the camera
Nov. 1992: Artist Robert Arneson dies at 62
A closeup photo of the "Yin and Yang" Egghead sculpture. The one in the foreground is on its side; the one in the background is upright.
April 1994: Coming soon to a campus site near you… Last eggheads set for installation
Newspaper clipping with a photo of the "Eye on Mrak" Egghead sculpture, an upside-down laughing head.
June 1994: Campus acquires the last three Eggheads
Newspaper clipping with a photo of a woman standing at a podium with a young girl beside her. Behind them is the "Eye on Mrak" Egghead sculpture.
Oct. 1994: Campus dedicates Eggheads
Newspaper clipping featuring a photo of the "Eye on Mrak" Egghead sculpture and a map of where all the Eggheads are located.
2004: They’re EGG-Cellent!- Egghead artwork brings unique touch to campus
Newspaper clipping with a distorted photo of an Egghead sculpture with no ears -- the "Hear No Evil" half of the "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" pair.
Jan. 2007: Scrambled eggheads: Two of the campus fixtures will be relocated
Newspaper clipping with a graphic of a person photographing an Egghead sculpture.
Feb. 2007: Hatch a Photo contest: Egghead photo contest gives students a shot at creating art
Newspaper clipping with a small inset photo of a student hovering in the air above "Stargazer", an Egghead lying on its back facing upward.
May 2007: Hatch a Photo contest: Egghead photography contest winners announced
Newspaper clipping with a captioned photo of an upright Egghead surrounded by construction-area dirt piles and a wheelbarrow.
2008: Eggheads prepare for a trip across the street
Newspaper clipping of an Egghead being lowered by a crane, with a worker on either side.
2009: Eggheads Reinstalled

Building Bookhead

In October 1991, Bookhead was the first Egghead sculpture to “hatch” on campus — steps from the Shields Library entrance.

Black-and-white photo of Bookhead sculpture on the back of a flatbed truck in front of Shields Library. A crane is behind the truck.
Two workers stand on a truck with the Bookhead sculpture inside.
Bookhead sculpture is lifted on a crane, supervised by two workers. The entrance to Shields Library is visible in the background.
Bookhead sculpture is lowered to the ground by a crane. A worker kneels by the sculpture to align it.
Robert Arneson stands at a podium next to the Bookhead sculpture. A row of onlookers is in the background.
Artist Robert Arneson speaking at the October 1991 dedication ceremony of Bookhead.
Three men pose by the Bookhead sculpture.
Robert Arneson with Chancellor Ted Hullar (left) and Dean of the College of Letters and Science Robert Crummey (right) at the dedication of Bookhead in October 1991.
Exhibit from
UC Davis Library
Curated by Library Communications in partnership with Archives and Special Collections
Previously on display April 2, 2024 - November 22, 2024 in the Shields Library (Lobby - Left Side of Main Staircase)