Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 1995)
599)'Tuesday • March 21, 1995 Aggielife The Battalion • Page 3 y Nikki Hopkins The Battalion r cat itior, for» I love jrair. Edii' 3utei ampus history shown through statues A . all L sculptor begins with a lump of clay and creates the features and expressions of an idea. As the clay is shaped, this idea be- omes the history with which we honor great men, radition and art. Texas A&M displays its history and ideals in the culptures found scattered around campus. 1 tb - late Memos Menos, commissioned in 1992, was designed by Ians Van deBovenkamp and stands behind the Hal- outy Geosciences Building. The title “Menos” is the Greek word for spirit. I Van deBovenkamp said in the same tradition of | .the Greeks’ search for knowledge and meaning, the i||culpture stands to remind and inspire people of : 'their own personal pursuits. I Popularly known as the “Aggie Paperclip,” the 25- foot stainless steel sculpture has two basic elements: the ring and the wave. Van deBovenkamp said, “The ring, or circle, em bodies stability or centering, while the wave pro vides a sense of endlessness, motion and flux.” Van deBovenkamp said the two elements are complimentary op posites. “As the waves reach skyward, they lift, pointing to something beyond,” Van deBovenkamp said. “The sculpture symbolizes and stimulates the quest for a higher knowledge and state of being — the spirit of learning.” The 7,000-pound sculpture is the only A&M sculp ture that was com missioned by the University through an open sculpture contest. Artists sent in their designs, and the winner was chosen by the Pres ident’s Advisory Committee. e statue of Robert Justus Kleberg Jr. in front of the Kle- erg Animal & Food Sciences enter on West Campus. ARCH 406 stands near the Architecture Center. ROUGHNECK Many of the sculptures on campus are commemo rative, like that of the bronze Roughneck in front of the Richardson Petroleum Engineering Building. The Roughneck features the figure of a 7-foot, 3- inch male oil field worker throwing the chain of an oil drilling pipe over a tri-cone rotary drilling bit. This sculpture, by artist Rosie Sandifer, was in stalled in 1991 to honor Joe C. Richardson. The statue stands more than 20 feet tall includ ing the marble base and the drilling pipe. Sandifer said she visited an oil field site in Level- land, Texas, “to get a good look at the men working there” before creating the piece. Robert Justus Kleberg, Jr. Another rugged male sculpture is in front of the Kleberg Animal & Food Sciences Center on West Campus. The sculpture is of Robert Justus Kleberg, Jr. as he sits on his favorite horse with his hands crossed upon the saddle horn to survey the land surrounding him. Kleberg, former head of the vast King Ranch, is honored for his donations of time and funds to Texas A&M. Helen Groves, Kleberg’s daughter, commissioned artist Jim Reno to capture Kleberg’s likeness in bronze in 1983. ARCH 406 Another commemorative statue was given to the University in October 1993. Tucked in between Scoates Hall and the Langford Architecture Center, the ARCH 406 statue is really two statues in one. Artist Lawrence Ludtke sculpted a boy with a backpack thrown over his shoulder — complete with a T-square and rolled blueprints — strolling to class. Veryl Goodnight created the companion piece, a golden retriever, that trots obediently at his master’s side. The artists devoted much of their time to detail, from the dog’s lolling tongue right down to the Aggie ring on the boy’s left hand and the pen in his pocket. ARCH 406 was given to Texas A&M by Betty and Joe Hiram Moore in memory of their son Stephen. Stephen Moore was a Texas A&M graduate in 1973. The dog, his parents say, is modeled after one of the two golden retrievers that Stephen always kept with him. The Moores said the title of the statue is a senior design class, the last in a sequence in the under graduate curriculum. Victory Eagle One of the most recent works of outdoor art placed on campus is the Victory Eagle in Cain Park. Wildlife sculptor Kent Ullburg designed the nine- foot bronze eagle with a wingspan of 14 feet. The eagle perches on a man-made waterfall by Cain Hall. Landscaping and park benches completed this $300,000 gift from the Class of 1991, but the project was not dedicated until September 1993. Eleanor Manson, president of the class of 1991, said the eagle represents the qualities that Texas A&M instills in its graduates — strength, courage and achievement. CENTENNIAL EAGLE A second bronze eagle, given to the University by the class of 1976, is the University Centennial Eagle in Spence Park. The Centennial Eagle was designed by artist George “Pat” Foley, who has done a number of works for Texas A&M. Dedicated to the school on its 100th anniversary, the sculpture’s design was used as the official logo for the University’s centennial celebration. Planned for the Future One sculpture also dedicated in 1976 has seem ingly disappeared. Planned for the Future, a bronze sculpture of a nude man and woman, stood in front of the MSC un til the MSC was expanded in 1991. The sculpture was removed and placed in storage but its whereabouts are unknown. Stew Milne / The Battalion — All Other Photos by Amy Browning / The BATTALidN Menos or “The Paperclip” is a stainless steel sculpture located in the engineering complex. litor ,1 Helle r ’ Goad, Bart jay jez lor d sP r "V .liday*/ 77840. <asA^ O'? .g' ca " The Centennial Statue is in front of the Sander’s Corps of Cadets Center. Catherine Hastedt, registrar and curator of Uni versity Center Galleries, says she thinks the statue is in a Physical Plant warehouse. This 10-foot sculpture was also created by Pat Fo ley and was meant to portray the coming of women to Texas A&M. General James Earl Rudder General James Earl Rudder was the Texas A&M president who brought about the admit tance of women to the University. A statue of Rudder is the newest of the statues on campus, situated behind the Rudder complex. Rudder was president of Texas A&M from 1959 until 1973. Margaret Rudder said the clay used by Larry Ludtke to sculpt the statue of her husband was the same type of clay used more than 75 years ago by Pompeo Coppini to make the statue of Lawrence Sullivan Ross. 1 2th ivian Perhaps one of the most well-known stories on campus is of E. King Gill, the original 12th Man. The 12th Man statue, also created by Foley, was given to the University almost 15 years ago by the class of 1980. The bronze figure depicts E. King Gill, an ath lete who played various sports. On January 22, 1922, during a post-season game, Gill was called down from the stands to help out the depleted Aggie team which was slowly defeating the national champion. Centre College. Although Gill never played in the game. Aggies have always stood at football games in memory of his dedi cation to A&M. Judy Whitney, of the 12th Man foundation, said a recognition wall will be built around the statue in front of Kyle Field in the spring to establish an endowment fund for athletics. Lawrence Sullivan Ross Another familiar face cast in bronze is Lawrence Sullivan Ross. Ross served as Texas governor from 1886 to 1890, then accepted the presidency of Texas A&M in 1891. Matt Segrest, Corps Commander and Ross Volunteer member, said the Volunteers try to model themselves after Ross. “Ross Volunteers are the top- notch cadets, the best group of cadets — and the best people you’ll ever meet,” said Segrest. “They are people who are motivated and want more out of life.” Segrest said it is a tradition for freshmen members of the Corps to polish the Ross statue at least once a year. Hastedt said this annual cleaning of the statues can actually damage them. “I am against the annual cleaning of Sul Ross,” she said. “They’re scrubbing him down to nothing.” Segrest said he thinks it is important for the freshmen to give the traditional polishing. “It depends on what your priorities are,” Seg rest said. “Which is more important — the art or the tradition?” Hastedt said the maintenance of the statues on campus is an upcoming issue for the FVesiden- t’s Advisory Committee. Dr. Walter Wendler, dean of architecture and chairman of the President’s Art Policy Commit tee, said the student initiative to clean the sculp tures is admirable, but the polishing removes the patina on the bronze pieces. The patina is an important layer that protects the color and nature of the bronze. “Eventually, that thing is going to be smooth,” Wendler said. “It’s like an Aggie ring. Have you ever seen a Class of ’38 ring? It’s features are hardly identifiable.” Wendler said the new Rudder sculpture has al ready been damaged by a recent “cleaning.” “We are trying to do what is best for the long run,” Wendler said. “I think it’s great the stu dents have the desire to help clean the statues, but everybody needs to understand that it may have a negative effect.” Wendler said there is currently a proposal to develop a maintenance routine recommended by each individual artist. Wendler said, “Kent Ullburg told us to wax his sculpture, the Victory Eagle, once a year with plain old car wax.” Roughneck is located in front of the Richardson Petroleum En gineering Building.