SCENDING CULTURAL HEIGHTS - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - May 5, 1996 - page E-1
May 5, 1996 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) | DAVID TEMPLETON, POST-GAZETTE STAFF WRITER | Page E-1

Behold the 15 bronze figures climbing the bricks of California University of Pennsylvania's World Culture
Building and you realize the truth behind Alan Cottrill's self description.
``I think big, work big and live big,'' said the 43-year-old sculptor from Washington, Pa. ``I'm not big - but I
have high goals and set high expectations.''
Cottrill's tour de force sculpture titled ``The Ascent of Humanity'' was unveiled yesterday after
commencement ceremonies at the university in Washington County.
The sculpture includes 9-foot figures beginning with Cro-Magnon man and topped with an inspired female
astronaut who crests the building more than 40 feet high. It's believed to be the largest figure sculpture in the
region.
The emotions of the event caused Terri Holman of California to cry, with tears continuing for minutes
afterward.
``I'm moved by it,'' she said. ``It's such a magnificent sculpture.''
University officials said they hope Cottrill's sculpture, showing how one culture builds upon previous cultures,
will seal its reputation as a fine-arts haven.
``For generations to come, it will be a reminder to our students and visitors on a daily basis why this
university is here,'' University President Angelo Armenti Jr. said. ``It's a reminder that we are in the humandevelopment business.''
Unveiling the sculpture comes as a relief to Armenti: ``I've been watching this two or three days a week for
two or three years, and I wondered if he would ever finish.''
Even before the unveiling, the sculpture was heralded as a ``real crowd-pleaser'' because of the
craftsmanship, theme and sheer dimensions.
``It's a figure sculpture that ought to get national attention,'' Washington and Jefferson art Professor Paul
Edwards said. ``This is first-rate craftsmanship and so in line with the history of sculpture, from the Greeks
and Romans to Rodin. There's so much energy, movement and emotion in it. It's marvelous.''
The sculpture results from a 3 1/2 -year process that began when Armenti asked his art faculty what could be
done to dress up the Duda World Culture Building. At that time, Cottrill was completing a sculpted bust of
university benefactor Robert Eberly outside the library, and his artist friends asked him for a proposal.
``My major concern was the fact that the building has no windows in it, and I was anticipating they might
suggest a mural or flags for the outside,'' Armenti said. ``I was not anticipating anything as ambitious as
what they presented to me.''
A private donor who asked not to be identified paid for the sculpture, Armenti said, declining to say how
much it cost.
Before embarking upon a sculpting career about six years ago, Cottrill was an entrepreneur who built his
Four Star Pizza business into an international franchise before he sold it.
He said he always intended to be an artist and went into business to make an art career possible. But it took
a near-fatal motorcycle accident to coax him to change his medium from pizza dough to sculpting clay.
While in the hospital, Cottrill began molding clay. Discovery that he had the eye disease glaucoma further

convinced him that it was time to pursue his dream.
A world traveler, Cottrill studied sculpture at the Art Student League in New York City, and cities throughout
Europe. He said his ``Ascent'' sculpture was inspired, in part, by Francois Rude's La Marseilles which crowns
one side of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
In a crash course on the human figure, Cottrill even took an art class in New York during which a pathologist
dissected a human body to reveal the muscle and bone composition that's fundamental to figure sculpting.
For two years, Cottrill has worked full time in a campus studio to complete maquettes, or models of the
sculpture, then sculpt full-size figures, with help from students and fellow sculptors.
For the past five months, he has worked seven-day weeks, dawn to dusk, to cast and hang the sculpture in
time for commencement.
Sculpting in bronze would have made the piece too heavy for the building and too costly. So Cottrill made
rubber molds and cast the figures himself with bonded bronze consisting of 70 percent bronze powder and
30 percent polyester resin. Despite its dimensions, the sculpture weighs only slightly more than a ton.
But the polyester content of the material makes it vulnerable to ultraviolet radiation. The Philadelphia
Museum of Art and Edwards are working to develop a coating to protect the sculpture, which will require
annual maintenance and a polish of wax.
Models for the figures included Armenti, art professor and project consultant Ray Dunlevy and Cottrill's
parents. His wife, Sue, modeled for the crowning figure, the female astronaut.
``The work is exciting,'' Miller said. ``It gives a plain brick building a new focus and a sense of excitement.
The interesting thing is his use of the vine symbolizing the upward thrust of humanity, and the way some
figures are turned away from the viewer which provides visual variety.'' Cottrill won't say who was the model
for Cro-Magnon man, which created a stir on campus when the figure turned out to have sizable genitalia
that has since been covered by bronze vines. The cigar-smoking Cottrill looked at the floor and said, ``No
comment,'' when asked if it was a self portrait.
Reaction to the sculpture has been effusive, with students gathering to view it and cars stopping and blocking
traffic outside the World Culture Building.
Post-Gazette Art and Architecture Critic Donald Miller said the sculpture ``is very adventuresome and a fine
attempt'' that spruces up the plain building.
Miller said the best time to view the sculpture was midday or early afternoon when the light and contrasts
are most dramatic.
``While its content has a classical feeling to it, it seems to be both modern and reflect the ideas of the Italian
baroque period the way the sculpture curves around the wall and the relief of the figures away from the
wall,'' he said.
Hoarse and tired, Cottrill downplayed the emotions of unveiling the project. Rather than focus on accolades,
he said he'd rather be working on yet grander commissions.
``Few artists have ever attempted anything this size,'' he said. ``But I can work bigger.''
CITATION (APA STYLE)
TEMPLETON, D. (1996, May 5). ASCENDING CULTURAL HEIGHTS. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) , pp. E-1. Available from
NewsBank: America's News: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?
p=NewsBank&docref=news/0EADF94C0DBAC1FC.
Copyright (c) 1996 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette