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CALIFORNIA - CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY LANDMARK GETS A - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - December 9, 2007 - page W-1
December 9, 2007 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) | Dave Zuchowski | Page W-1
The ongoing transformation of the campus at California University of Pennsylvania ran into a snag when
plans to demolish a 60s-era classrom building put a piece of signature architectural art in jeopardy.
The solution to the problem was almost as creative as the artwork itself.
The artwork, a massive sculpture, was born in the mid 1990s when university President Angelo Amenti
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 if anything could be done to make the building look better. 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 then Washington-based sculptor Alan Cottrill 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 current studio in Zanesville, Ohio.
Knowing his strength lies 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 the corner of the building. The entire
installation is united by a sculptural vine that seems 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," said Mr. Cottrill.
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," said Dr. Armenti.
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 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 already 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, really 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. However, an arbor vitae
hedge is planted to screen out and disguise the equipment.
CITATION (APA STYLE)
Zuchowski, D. (2007, December 9). CALIFORNIA - CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY LANDMARK GETS A NEW LOOK. Pittsburgh PostGazette (PA), pp. W-1. Available from NewsBank: America's News: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/documentview?p=NewsBank&docref=news/11D6F650C1528428.
Copyright (c) 2007 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
December 9, 2007 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) | Dave Zuchowski | Page W-1
The ongoing transformation of the campus at California University of Pennsylvania ran into a snag when
plans to demolish a 60s-era classrom building put a piece of signature architectural art in jeopardy.
The solution to the problem was almost as creative as the artwork itself.
The artwork, a massive sculpture, was born in the mid 1990s when university President Angelo Amenti
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 if anything could be done to make the building look better. 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 then Washington-based sculptor Alan Cottrill 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 current studio in Zanesville, Ohio.
Knowing his strength lies 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 the corner of the building. The entire
installation is united by a sculptural vine that seems 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," said Mr. Cottrill.
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," said Dr. Armenti.
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 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 already 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, really 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. However, an arbor vitae
hedge is planted to screen out and disguise the equipment.
CITATION (APA STYLE)
Zuchowski, D. (2007, December 9). CALIFORNIA - CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY LANDMARK GETS A NEW LOOK. Pittsburgh PostGazette (PA), pp. W-1. Available from NewsBank: America's News: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/documentview?p=NewsBank&docref=news/11D6F650C1528428.
Copyright (c) 2007 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette