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Standing in black and white checkered coats, the G-Nomes guard the corners of the Molecular Biology Building.

The G-Nome Project, made up of 48 pieces of art throughout the Molecular Biology Building, was a multi-pronged project implemented in the fall of 1990.

The project was made possible by the Art in State Building Project passed by the Iowa Legislature in 1978, said Marilyn Vaughan, communications specialist for University Museums.

A universitywide committee decided how the art was to be incorporated directly into the architecture of the building.

“That committee selected Andrew Leicester, an artist from Minneapolis,” Vaughan said. “He worked with the designers of the building to incorporate the art into the design of the building. It is impressive because nothing was done on that scale at Iowa State before then.”

Leicester did extensive research about the field of molecular biology so the art would closely reflect the field.

“What I’ve tried to do is reflect what I think are the prevailing issues… [the art] addresses issues associated with the work going on in the building,” Leicester said in the March 4, 1992 issue of the Daily.

The G-Nomes are 12-foot terra cotta clay sculptures created by David Dahlquist, who is involved heavily in art in Des Moines, Vaughan said.

“The G-Nomes are hybridized composites of a harlequin, researcher, business person, Darth Vader and Ku Klux Klan wizard,” Leicester said in the Daily article. “The name comes from gnome, a dwarf-like creature guarding the buried treasures of the earth and secrets of life, and genome, the genetic term that refers to the complete set of the human chromosomes.”

Vaughan said the coats of the G-Nomes symbolize the black suits worn by businessmen and white lab coats worn by scientists and wield chromosomes in their clenched hands.

“Each of the G-Nomes has an X and Y chromosome rods in their hands because of the genetic engineering aspect of Molecular Biology,” she said.

Amid random alphabetical letters, outstretched black-gloved hands add to the mystique of the building.

Vaughan said the letters, when put in the right order, spell out “Human beings are not yet wise enough to direct the course of evolution,” which was quoted by Robert Sincheimer, a molecular biologist at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Vaughan also made note of the building’s DNA.

“An apparent part of the building is the twisted ceramic tiles on the side representing strands of DNA and the DNA strains on the floors,” she said.

The building’s artwork has received mixed reactions, Vaughan said.

“You either hate it, or you love it. But that is what great art should do — stimulate our thought processes,” she said.