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PLAN WILL SAVE 'HUMANITY' SCULPTURE ON CALU - - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - December 2, 2007 - page N-4
December 2, 2007 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) | Dave Zuchowski | Page N-4
A piece of signature architectural art was put in jeopardy by plans to demolish a '60s-era classroom building
at the California University of Pennsylvania, but the solution to the problem was almost as creative as the
artwork itself.
The artwork, a massive sculpture, was created in the mid-1990s when university President Angelo Armenti
decided that something should be done about the appearance of the Duda World Cultures Building on the
campus' main thoroughfare.
"The building first opened in 1968 and is an example of architecture that is somewhat peculiar in that it had
no windows facing outside," he said. "For that reason, it reminded me of a prison."
To help remedy the situation, Dr. Armenti approached Richard Grimstead, head of the art department, and
asked whether anything could be done to improve the building's appearance.
After giving the question some thought, Mr. Grimstead suggested the installation of a sculptural overlay to
cover part of the exterior wall.
As a result, university officials commissioned Alan Cottrill, a sculptor who was based in Washington, Pa., at
the time, to create both the design and the finished sculptural work.
"When Dr. Armenti asked me if I could come up with a concept for the project, I told him I'd have something
on his desk in two weeks," said Mr. Cottrill by phone from his present studio in Zanesville, Ohio.
Knowing his strength was in sculpting the human figure, he settled on the concept of a dual theme, symbolic
of both the evolution and growth of human culture over the millennia and the impressive recent growth and
acceleration of construction on the university campus.
The work titled "The Ascent of Humanity" is represented by 15 human figures installed in a vertical plane
along a corner of the building.
The entire installation is united by a sculptural vine that appears to grow naturally and organically up the side
of the building.
"I decided on a chronological progression that started with Cro-Magnon man on the bottom and culminated
with a female astronaut at the top," Mr. Cottrill said.
Like other artists, the sculptor used friends and family members as models for the human figures. Dr.
Armenti's face, for instance, served as the model for the Greco-Roman figure; fellow artist Ray Dunlevy's
visage was used for the crusader; Mr. Cottrill's mother, June, served as the model for the pregnant woman;
his father, Frank, represented a businessman; and his wife, Susan, served as the model for the female
astronaut.
"The sculpture serves as an apt metaphor for what the university does -- educates people and raises them
up," Dr. Armenti said.
The work was unveiled as part of the university's commencement ceremonies in 1996. However, a few years
ago, when the university decided to tear down the World Cultures Building, planners were faced with the
problem of what to do with the sculpture.
Options that were considered included relocating the sculpture to another site or putting up a metal frame
on the present site and refitting it to the framework. However, there were grave concerns that the work might
be damaged if it were dismantled and reconstructed.
Eventually, Dr. Armenti, in consultation with the architect, Albert Filoni, decided on a plan that would leave
part of the two adjoining walls and the sculpture intact while demolishing the rest of the building.
Aesthetically, the remains would be given the look of a ruin, a concept that Mr. Cottrill also favors.
"The structure has been stabilized, and we've used both used and new brick to seal up and match the bricks
on what's left of the original walls," said Richard Schmitz, project manager of the firm of MacLachlan,
Cornelius and Filoni, of Pittsburgh. "The corners have been angled downward, and we've taken measures to
make sure no one will be able to climb it."
The sculpture had served as inspiration for another work, a musical composition commissioned by the
university for its sesquicentennial in 2002.
The commission went to composer Nancy Galbraith, of Millvale, who wrote a 20-minute piece titled "De
profundis ad lucem," which translates from the Latin as from the depths to the light.
"I saw the sculpture as the birth of man at the bottom, so I began my composition as still and quiet as I
could," she said. "It then breaks into a chaotic section that represents struggle but ends with high string
harmonies that represent reaching toward the light and gives the illusion of floating upward."
The area surrounding the sculpture is now a green space that is an extension of neighboring Old Main Park.
As part of the project, a cooling tower that serves nearby Dixon Hall and electrical equipment -- a generator,
two transformers and switch gear -- have been installed behind the finished wall. An arbor vitae hedge is
planted to hide the equipment.
CITATION (APA STYLE)
Zuchowski, D. (2007, December 2). PLAN WILL SAVE 'HUMANITY' SCULPTURE ON CALU - BUILDING TO SURVIVE ITS
DEMOLITION. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) , pp. N-4. Available from NewsBank: America's News:
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/11D4A763EE84D810.
Copyright (c) 2007 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
December 2, 2007 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) | Dave Zuchowski | Page N-4
A piece of signature architectural art was put in jeopardy by plans to demolish a '60s-era classroom building
at the California University of Pennsylvania, but the solution to the problem was almost as creative as the
artwork itself.
The artwork, a massive sculpture, was created in the mid-1990s when university President Angelo Armenti
decided that something should be done about the appearance of the Duda World Cultures Building on the
campus' main thoroughfare.
"The building first opened in 1968 and is an example of architecture that is somewhat peculiar in that it had
no windows facing outside," he said. "For that reason, it reminded me of a prison."
To help remedy the situation, Dr. Armenti approached Richard Grimstead, head of the art department, and
asked whether anything could be done to improve the building's appearance.
After giving the question some thought, Mr. Grimstead suggested the installation of a sculptural overlay to
cover part of the exterior wall.
As a result, university officials commissioned Alan Cottrill, a sculptor who was based in Washington, Pa., at
the time, to create both the design and the finished sculptural work.
"When Dr. Armenti asked me if I could come up with a concept for the project, I told him I'd have something
on his desk in two weeks," said Mr. Cottrill by phone from his present studio in Zanesville, Ohio.
Knowing his strength was in sculpting the human figure, he settled on the concept of a dual theme, symbolic
of both the evolution and growth of human culture over the millennia and the impressive recent growth and
acceleration of construction on the university campus.
The work titled "The Ascent of Humanity" is represented by 15 human figures installed in a vertical plane
along a corner of the building.
The entire installation is united by a sculptural vine that appears to grow naturally and organically up the side
of the building.
"I decided on a chronological progression that started with Cro-Magnon man on the bottom and culminated
with a female astronaut at the top," Mr. Cottrill said.
Like other artists, the sculptor used friends and family members as models for the human figures. Dr.
Armenti's face, for instance, served as the model for the Greco-Roman figure; fellow artist Ray Dunlevy's
visage was used for the crusader; Mr. Cottrill's mother, June, served as the model for the pregnant woman;
his father, Frank, represented a businessman; and his wife, Susan, served as the model for the female
astronaut.
"The sculpture serves as an apt metaphor for what the university does -- educates people and raises them
up," Dr. Armenti said.
The work was unveiled as part of the university's commencement ceremonies in 1996. However, a few years
ago, when the university decided to tear down the World Cultures Building, planners were faced with the
problem of what to do with the sculpture.
Options that were considered included relocating the sculpture to another site or putting up a metal frame
on the present site and refitting it to the framework. However, there were grave concerns that the work might
be damaged if it were dismantled and reconstructed.
Eventually, Dr. Armenti, in consultation with the architect, Albert Filoni, decided on a plan that would leave
part of the two adjoining walls and the sculpture intact while demolishing the rest of the building.
Aesthetically, the remains would be given the look of a ruin, a concept that Mr. Cottrill also favors.
"The structure has been stabilized, and we've used both used and new brick to seal up and match the bricks
on what's left of the original walls," said Richard Schmitz, project manager of the firm of MacLachlan,
Cornelius and Filoni, of Pittsburgh. "The corners have been angled downward, and we've taken measures to
make sure no one will be able to climb it."
The sculpture had served as inspiration for another work, a musical composition commissioned by the
university for its sesquicentennial in 2002.
The commission went to composer Nancy Galbraith, of Millvale, who wrote a 20-minute piece titled "De
profundis ad lucem," which translates from the Latin as from the depths to the light.
"I saw the sculpture as the birth of man at the bottom, so I began my composition as still and quiet as I
could," she said. "It then breaks into a chaotic section that represents struggle but ends with high string
harmonies that represent reaching toward the light and gives the illusion of floating upward."
The area surrounding the sculpture is now a green space that is an extension of neighboring Old Main Park.
As part of the project, a cooling tower that serves nearby Dixon Hall and electrical equipment -- a generator,
two transformers and switch gear -- have been installed behind the finished wall. An arbor vitae hedge is
planted to hide the equipment.
CITATION (APA STYLE)
Zuchowski, D. (2007, December 2). PLAN WILL SAVE 'HUMANITY' SCULPTURE ON CALU - BUILDING TO SURVIVE ITS
DEMOLITION. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) , pp. N-4. Available from NewsBank: America's News:
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/11D4A763EE84D810.
Copyright (c) 2007 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette