The development of an idea in sculpture
by Lyndon Fayne Pomeroy
A THESIS Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
of Master of Applied Art
Montana State University
© Copyright by Lyndon Fayne Pomeroy (1960)
Abstract:
This thesis is a narration of the development of a Memorial-Reservoir-Sculptural unit as a project on
the campus at Northern Montana College at Havre. The project is in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Art at Montana State College at Bozeman, Montana.
The memorial is to Max P. Ruhr, civic leader, lawyer, and member of the Northern Montana College .
executive board, who was. killed in.an.automobile,accident near Havre. His family and many friends
established a fund to be used to .enhance the campus. This fund was used to develop the memorial.
The reservoir functions as a storage unit for water pumped from the deep wells on campus for irrigation
purposes. Size was dictated by volume requirements for irrigation, while retaining depth not. exceeding
safety margins for children. The shape of the reservoir-pool developed out of the existing form of the
land on which it was placed.
The total project evolved as a unit which embodies the theme of the."Watering Hole, " through the
sculptural development of indigenous forms of the region. A fountain symbolically conveys the growth
and use factors of. water in this, region while functioning as an outlet for the water from the wells. A
free standing wall with abutments functions as the base for sculpture while housing the valve .and
pumping equipment necessary for irrigation. . The indigenous animal forms developed in sheet, steel
surmount the wall and abutments.
Included in this thesis are photographs of the area, the wall, the fountain, the pool-reservoir, the animal
forms, and models of the project. THE.DEVELOPMENT OF. AN IDEA IN SCULPTURE
by
LYNDON PAYNE. POMEROY
v
A THESIS
Subm itted to the G raduate F aculty
in
p a rtial fulfillm ent of th e requirem ents
for the .degree of
M aster of Applied Art
at
M ontana. S tate. C ollege
Approved;
/fw
7J- &
HegA, M ajor Departm ent
Examining Committee
Bozeman, M ontana
. January, 196,0
^ p I rU d
Of ^
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.
II.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION.....................
I
THE REGION
4
III.
THE POOL
IV.
THE FOUNTAIN
V.
VI.
VII.
........ ...................................................................
...............................................................
8
.. . ..............................................................
14
THE W A L L ..................................................................................
21
THE ANIMAL F O R M S .....................................................
26
CONCLUSION .........................................................
35
140639
. ABSTRACT
- This th e s is i s a,.narration of the..developm ent of a M em orialR eservoir-S culptural unit a s a p ro ject on th e cam pus a t Northern
M ontana C ollege a t H avre. The p ro ject is, in p a rtia l fulfillm ent of
th e ,requirem ents, for th e.d eg ree of M aster of A pplied Art a t M ontana
S ta te .C ollege .at Bozemany M ontana.
The m em orial is to M ax P . .Kuhr.,. civ ic le a d e r, law yer, and
member of the N orthern M ontana C ollege .ex ecutive board, who w as
k ille d i n .a n ..autom o b ile,accid en t n ear H avre. H is.fam ily, and m any
friends e s ta b lis h e d a fund to be u se d to .enhance th e .c a m p u s. This
.fund w as u se d to develop the m em orial.
. . The .reservoir functions a s a storage unit for w ater pumped
from th e.d e ep w ellsjon.cam pus for irrig atio n p u rp o s e s . ..Size was
.d ic ta te d by. volum e ,requirem ents-for irrig atio n . While ,retaining
d ep th not. exceeding sa fe ty m argins-for c h ild ren . . The shape .of the
.reserv o ir-p o o l developed, o ut.of th e .existing.form o f.th e land on w hich
it.w a s p lac ed .
The.total, p ro je c t evolved a s a unit w hich em bodies the them e
of th e ."W atering H ole, " through th e sculptural.developm ent of in ­
digenous forms of the re g io n . A fountain Sym bolically conveys the
growth and u se facto rs of. w ater in this, region w hile functioning as an
o u tle t for the w ater from the w e lls . .A free standing w all.w ith ab u t­
m ents functions .a s-th e . b a se .fo r scu lp tu re w hile housing the valve and.
pumping equipm ent n ecessary , for irrig a tio n . . The indigene,us animal
forms -developed in sheet, ste e l, surm ount the w all and .abutm ents.
Included i n th is , the s is are photographs of th e a re a , the w a ll,
th e fo u n tain , the p o o l-re se rv o ir, th e anim al form s, and models of the
p ro jec t.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I w ish to extend my sincere, thanks and appreciation to the
follow ing people for th e ir help in developing the. various p h ases of
th is project:
M r. C yril H. Conrad and, h is sta ff
Dr. Lo O. Brockmann
The M ax P . Kuhr fam ily
Harold Babcock
Ernie Bcuffy
My W ife
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
. The p ro ce ss of developing th e campus .at N orthern M ontana
.College..at H avre, M ontana, posed m any, problem s .related , to irrig a tio n .
. C hanges in th e lan d sc a p e .n e c e ssita te d ,by. co n stru ctio n .of.the C ollege
.fa c ilitie s had d estro y ed th e n ativ e g ra s s e s and a c c e le ra te d .erosion
u n til th e s o il w as .being ,w ashed into th e =Center of th e town of H avre.
. T o .le sse n th is u n n a tu ra l.ra te of.ero sio n th e d a y h ills on w hich the
campus, is being-developed w ere p lan ted w ith c rested , w heat and,..crested
rye .g ra s s e s . . The .grasses-.quickly, becam e .rooted, adding .beauty of a
type to th e cam pus.
T hese ty p es of g ra s se s,re q u ire d a. g reater amount
of w a te r for survival, than w as afforded by natural ra in fa ll.
This n e c e s ­
s ita te d irrig a tio n . A s.th e ,number of a c re s,b e in g p lan ted in c re a se d ,
som ething had to be d o n e .to le s s e n th e burden upon th e .already over­
tax ed m unicipal w ater sy stem .
H arold.B abcock, S uperintendent.of B uildings.and G rounds-at
N orthern Montana..Colle.ge,, su g g e ste d .re-opening Some .of. th e .o ld W ells
around the. firs t building c o n stru c te d on the. -cam pus.. Two of the two
hundred foot, deep w a lls .w e re o p en ed a n d w ith th e u se of m odern je t-ty p e
pum ps, i t w a s p o ss ib le , to ,return to production th e s e w ells-w hich th e
c ity .h ad abandoned m an y .y ears.b efo re.
,2
- .After the w e lls .had been put into operation,, the. w ater.w as
pum ped.directly into a .sprinkling, system , with, th e w ell pumps.. The
volume .of w ater n eeded ,by the su b seq u en t enlargem ent, of.the .water r e ­
quirem ents ,. fo rced .e onB ideration of some ,other m ethod of producing th e
.necessary, volum e. . Someone then .suggested, th a t a s te e l tank be placed,
at the upper end of th e .OampuS into w hich the. w ater m ight be pumped
..directly end sto re d . . The .campus .could.then be.irrigated.from the ta n k .
T his id e a of u sin g a .ta n k Was -abandoned .as .the .co st w ould have been pro­
h ib itiv e .
A I e s s -ex p en siv e m ethod u tiliz in g an open, re se rv o ir w as ..sug­
g e ste d .
T his.reg io n of. northern M ontana had lo st one .o f.its outstanding
c itiz e n s when Max-P., Kuhr w as k ille d in ..an. autom obile a c c id e n t. . C ivic
-leader,, law yer, and member of th e .executive;board> he had, been a re a l
friend to Northern. M ontana. C o lleg e. . His;-fam ily and m any friends
e s ta b lis h e d a M ax P-.,,Kuhr Memorial.Fund., . T his.fund w a s to be u$ed in
refle ctin g .M r. K a h r's.life-lo n g in te re s t and support of the. C ollege through
en h an cem ent of th e campus, in som e m anner.
At th is p o in t th e author o f.th is paper a sk ed perm ission of
Dr, L .. O . . Brockmann, P re sid e n t.o f N orthern M ontana. C o lle g e, to. d e sig n
a. sc u lp tu ra l unit.w hich. Would be a.fitting..m em orial to Max P „ Kuhr, This
sc u lp tu ra l u n it w h ile.in clu d in g th e n e ed e d .re se rv o ir would.embody, a sym ­
bolism sig n ific a n t of th e .re g io n ^ ..After co n su lta tio n w ith M r., Cyril
.C onrad, P e a d .of th e Art .D epartm ent.at .M dntana-Ptate.C ollege,
,Bozeman , i t w as -decided the problem w a s of su fficie n t .merit to ,war­
rant pursuance .as -a partial, requirem ent, for, the M a s te r of Applied Arts
. D eg ree.
.,Dr. -Brockmann referred to .th e .Kuhr fam ily a re q u e st th a t the
.c o m p lete d .rese rv o ir-scu lp tu ral.u n it might becom e a.m em orial to Max P .
Kuhr. The -fam ily.readily, c o n sen te d .and th e .memorial, u n it w as begun.
CHAPTER I I
. THE REGION
- The peculiarly, sig n ific a n t c h a ra c te ris tic s of th e G reat Plains
region .w ere-exam inedIn an.effort to ,c re a te the .symbolism, n e c e ssa ry
for. a fittin g m em orial to Max P. Kuhr0 The region of th e G reat P lains
w hich is the hom e ,of N orthern -Montana. C o lleg e, has b e e n term ed a part
of the .G reat American .JBes'ert e x ten d in g , from T exas -northward through
■Canada,
The area.im m ed iately .a d ja ce n t.to H avre.extends-from the
Rocky M ountains through th e,flat, lands .of .th e ,D a k o ta s . It in clu d es
many riv ers-an d stream s, w hich ultim ately, empty into th e M issouri River..
The topography. S tretch es...from. th e ,rolling h ills , a rb itrarily cu t by. the
fe n c e m arking, the ,boundary betw een our. country and C a n ad a , a n d .ac ro ss
th e M ilk River w here it. m eets-tw o m ountain ran g e s,, th e Bears. Paw and
th e L ittle. R ockies.
In betw een, we fin d .ro llin g ,gras s -la n d s , bad. la n d s,
riv er bottom s, h ills -which are ,the rem ains, of igneous -e x tru s io n s, co al
and sco ria, d e p o s its . . The ,h ills,to th e north were .sculptured by. the. m any
g laciers-w h ich m oved over th is land and l e f t d e p o sits of. ro ck s,an d s ilt,
.A dditional, form ation h a s tak en p lace .under th e .waters -which have fa lle n ,
moving the so il ever down h ill to cut the.doule.es -and c re a te -the b a d
la n d s . . T his.w ater le a c h e d out th e m in e rals, d epositing them on the. low ­
lan d s, as a lk a li fla ts „ The ,resu lt o f a n c ie n t and le s s , a n c ie n t.v o lca n ic
5
a c tiv ity le ft huge piles,-of.rocks a s m em entos in .th e .form of m ountains
■and h ills . ,S o ils w hich w ere .developed by th e ...combination of facto rs
in .th e ,reg io n supported a. growth of g ra s s e s , ample .forage to r th e t r e ­
m endous num bers.of game a n im als of. th e .immediate p a s t.
T his.so il w as
.firs t g razed , la te r plow ed, and w ith th e .d evelopm ent.of farming p rac ­
tic e s . com m ensurate .with the region, h a s d e v elo p ed into-a.farm ing .land
w h ere .wheat has .becom e th e m ajor crop.
Animals inhabiting this, area in g reat numbers w e re , buffalo,,
.d e e r ,. e lk , a n te lo p e , b e ar, g o a ts , and. sh e ep .
Many, s p e c ie s of p rairie
c h ic k e n s , g ro u se, duck, g e e s e , and le s s e r birds In v a s t numbers also
m ade .their home in th is-re g io n .
Tb m aintain _a b a la n ce there w as the
w o lf, th e .c o y o te , th e -eagle, the haw k, and the-ow l. .With the coming
of th e .trappers, tr a d e r ,. and ev en tu ally th e h o m estead er, m ost of these,
e ith e r changed th e ir h abitat, or w ere -exterm inated.
In th is reg io n we now
find many, of th e s e .anim als .surviving only in m ountainous, reg io n s.
Some,
su c h as the a n te lo p e .a n d v ario u s sp e c ie s of grouse, survived in is o la te d
p o c k e ts .. .With, th e advent of game la w s, th e s e have .been allow ed to
m ultiply in su fficie n t numbers to be hunted a g a in . In re c en t y e a rs,
With varying, s u b c e s s , attem pts havfe b een made .to .rep lan t th e larger
game a n im a ls back in th eir orig in al h a b ita t. P lantings have b e e n made
of. e lk , rocky mountain, g o a t,. and bighorn, sh eep . . In a re a s w h e re p re s ­
s u re s by people haye .not.been g re a t, th e s e a n im a ls h a y e.in c re a se d
I
6
rap id ly .
The .human population in th is.reg io n has..alw ays been sm all.
-The.Indian moved in larg er numbers into the a re a afte r he a c q u ire d the
h o rse and the rifle . .As he became, nom adic th is -land becam e a favored
hunting ground. .W hen th e Indian population in c re a s e d , th ey moved
into, th is-a re a and. e sta b lis h e d w inter cam ps in th e -Cyprus h ills .to the
north in C anada, in th e Bears-Paw and the L ittle ..R o ck ies. T hese.w inter
cam ps gave him a c c e s s to th e v a s t herds, of game w hich roamed the
p r e ir ie s . As.. the .white man made his. way. w est-and north, th is a re a
becam e the la s t surviving stronghold of the.w ay of life w hich w as -the
In d ia n 's .
For th is re a so n , much of th e land has been d e sig n ated as
-R eservation and i s .s t i l l populated by th e rem nants.of th e trib e s .
Fort
A ssin ib o in e ,was b u ilt to control th e la s t.o f.th e s e p e o p le s.
. W hen hom esteads, of o n e -h a lf se ctio n each w ere allow ed.for
th e p rivilege .of. "proving ,up, " thb region.w as im m ediately, populated by
I
people .with no co ncept of the .lim iting factors im posed by th e .la c k of
w ater in the reg io n . . They, th eir liv e sto c k , th eir p la n ts, and th eir
farming practices., e ith e r adju sted .im m ed iately to th e a rid ity of. the
re g io n or th ey .retu rn ed to th e ir former clim ate .where th is type o f .a d ju s t­
m ent.w as u n n e c e ssa ry .
• M ost of the people w ho .did m ake the .adjustm ent and rem ained
to develop the region, fa ile d to .develop s e n s itiv ity to th e unusual type
pf beauty, the .Great Plains, offered.. . They. did.not know,, or fe e l, th e
.rhythm io.m ovem ents .in,the.contours.of.the..land, th e rock forms., the
g ra s s e s in th e w ind, the. .drifting ,snow, th e lith e n e s s .o f th e herds of
a n te lo p e , or d eer, or ,elk; nor. did th ey se n se th e c o lo rs, th e .d is ta n c e s ,
the freed o m .
The purpose .of. th is project has.been, to-deyelop. an .order n e t
only, su g g e stiv e ,o f th e s e .fa c to rs , but imbued w ith them, to th e ,ex ten t
th at i t sy m b o lizes the. sig n ific an c e of. th e region a s i t has. developed
from the p a st.e ra s into th e p re se n t.
CHAPTER III
THE, EOOE
T h e .first ste p in th e ..developm ent of the problem w as -the.
s e le c tio n ,of a s ite ..for th e pool -^res enroir-Riem oriaI. F actors -which had
to be given c o n sid eratio n were, th e re la tio n sh ip of th e .entire .u n it tp th e
total..cam pus topography., w ith its p re se n t .and .proposed ..structures., th e
,function of e ffic ie n tly irrigating the developing a re a s of,law n, th e .lim i­
ta tio n of a maximum depth of.th ree.feet, for the- pool (th is.d e p th -e sta b ­
lis h e d for. th e sa fe ty of, c h ild re n .). A further lim itatio n w as .that the. pool
m ust be of su c h -siz e .that the. w ater lev el, w ould not be. .lowered more
th an one foot a fte r th e w ater had .been pumped for eight, hours through,
tw en ty -four h o ses..th ree-fo u rth s of an in ch in .d ia m eter. .That th is w as
a lso to be a memorial.and..must, therefor b e ,in .a-position o f dom inance
over its. im m ediate .surroundings-w hile ,retaining-a u n ity w ith the to ta l
cam pus had a lso , to .be. tak e n in to consideration..
, T h e.first location, exam ined w a s .im m ediately north, of the a d - .
m in istratio n ..building. A lo n g narrow, sh ap e :wlfh ,th e .major ax is of. th e •
pool a t rig h t a n g le s to. th e prevailing, w ind "was. d esig n ed fo r th is lo c a ­
tio n .
This .shape-W ould have m inim ized, .w ind-caused evaporation. .'This
-s ite and shape w ould h a v e .required.e x c e ssiv e earth m oving, and the
. sh ap e w ould have b e e n a rtific ial, when re la te d to .th e topography of th e
9
region and th e intended philosophy of sym bolism .
It a lso would not
have had th e.req u ired volume of w ater to sa tis fy the irrig atio n req u ire rm ents w ithout being of a.depth in. e x c e s s of th e.safety , demands .for
ch ild ren.
. To the e a s t of. th e ,first p ro p o sed .area, i t w as found th at a pool
of the .diam eter needed to give th e shallow depth and reta in the required
volume could be b u ilt .at much le s s c o st and w ith a.minimum of earth
m oving. A free-form sh ap e in th is area sebm ed to be in c lo se r harmony
w ith the in ten d ed philosophy of the.developm ent.of.the p o o l-re se rv o irm em orial.
This a re a w a s a ls o at an optimum elev atio n for maximum
.e ffic ie n cy of th e w ell pum ps.
.A Survey of th e .s e le c te d area w as m ade giving elev atio n s on a
ten foot grid.
From th is , w ith th e help of Osw ald.Berg, A rchitect for the
C o lleg e, the te n ta tiv e siz e .a n d shape for the pool w ere d ev elo p ed . A
contour map m ade w ith th e .a id .o f th is .su rv e y h elped in determ ining the
ex act p o sitio n .
The pool is im m ediately north o f the,W om en's- R esidence
-Hall, betw een the main c o lle g e d riv e a n d th e.ro a d to H ighland Park, a
suburb of H avre. Before.the pool w as sta rte d , i t w as -n ecessary to r e ­
move p art of .a . stra ig h t row of carag a n a and ju s s ia n o live ..trees th a t w ere
growing in .th e a re a se le c te d for th e pool. .A b u ll-d o z e r w as then u se d
to begin th e excavation by follow ing th e natural slope of the ground on
the upper side of the.area, s e le c te d .
The slope w as continued by a cut
10
to the depth of one.foot and the earth rem oved w a s.d e p o site d on. the
.lower sid e of w hat .was., to becom e -the pool, . This .was b u ilt up to a
.depth of three f e e t .. This.-deposit w as made in a. long sw eeping .curve
.relating to the natural, curve .of the la n d sc a p e . , C onstant supervision of
the equipm ent o p erato rs,w as n e c e ssa ry to. in su re developm ent of the.
forms as co n ceiv ed .
The inside-of. th e shallow bow l-like, sh ap e.w as-d efin ed w ith a
inotor p a tr o l .. This was. then rak e d b y hand to fin ish and refine. the pool.
The o u tsid e of th e pool.on the.dow n h ill side..was .also fin ish ed in th is
m anner. G rass, w as p lan ted on th e a re a s -th a t had been d istu rb e d by the
ch an g e.
The fin ish ed pool, was 13.3 fe e t long, by 95 fe e t wide a t its.
w id e st p la c e , and co ntained approxim ately 10, 700 sq u a re .fe e t.
(Fig­
ure I .)
The p la s tic pipe from, the w e lls to th e pool and w ithin.the pool
its e lf w as la id . .Footings, for th e .in ta k e pipe.w ere p o u red . . A concrete
.Sidewalk five feet, w ide w a s b u ilt a t the-edge of the pool com pletely su r­
rounding i t .
The floor surface of the pool w as-covered w ith bentonite
and a lay e r o f.gravel four in ch e s in dep th w as laid o v er th is . .This,
g ravel coming to th e edge of the w alk w a s.to -forestall, any erosion
c a u se d by moving of th e w ater in th e wind a s much a s to add an elem ent
of n a tu ra ln e s s . .This com pleted th e p o o l-rese rv o ir (fig u re .2.)
Figure I.
Looking n o rth „ Showing developing shape of pool.
Figure 2.
Final shape of pool en clo sed w ith sid ew alk.
--
13
It had seem ed .natural th at ,the Iorm of .the pool, should as
n early as p o ss ib le conform, to the ,existing. lan d scap e „ The topography
of th e cam pus had su g g e ste d that, the form of the pool, should be..a. fre e ­
form. rath er th an a geom etric .sh ap e, since: th e .a re a .s e le c te d for th e pool
w as-not oriented re c ta lfn e a rly .
The free-form outline of th e.co n crete
sidew alk in i ts constantly, changing curves w a s . sym bolic .of the .rock
.forms c re a te d by the .movement of th e m any.g lac ie rs -w hich had once
moved over th is lan d .
C ontrasting w ith th is .w as the ire e -b o w l like,
sh ap e of.the pool bottom., made to su g g e st the assy m etric openness
of n atu rally ,ero d ed w ater h o le s , buffalo w allow s and a lk a li lick s p re­
v a le n t in .the region. AS th e w ater level, flu c tu a te s ...from irrigation u s e ,
it.d e v e lo p s c o n sta n tly changing relationships, betw een the -edge of the
w a te r.and. th e edge of the confining sid ew alk .
CHAPTER IV
THE. FOUNTAIN
. Another m ajor concern .was w ith the. function of the w ater as a
.stru ctu ral elem ent in the.-design. . The lo g ic al outgrowth of th is id e a was,
to plan the u se of a.fo u n ta in .
Limiting, facto rs-in th e .d e sig n o f th is u n it,
w hich w ere .the in le t for the .water from th e ,w e lls , had to have a minimum .
o f. re s tric tio n on ,th e flow , and th e effe ct of wind on the pattern of the
w ater as it sp ille d into the pool from th e fountain had a lso to be ,con­
sid e red .
The first.fa c to r in.d eveloping th e fountain w as an ,evaluation of
th e sym bolic n ature o f,w ater as it.r e la te d to the re g io n . .This included
th e growth fa c to r in h eren t in w ater from the point of.view of the forms
c a u se d .by i t s a c tio n s a n d .re a c tio n s; a ls o the u se to w hich it. was put.
for th e benefit, of man a s . a farm er, stockm an, arid’,hunter.
It. w a s.d e cid ed th a t iron p ip e, b u ilt as tr e e and plant form s,
w ith each se c tio n a tta c h e d to .the other a s plants grow in th e spring
when th e rains-com e, would b e s t sym bolize growth.
. The firs t fountain..was a. s c a le m odel w ith m any pipes and holes,
-creating stream s .of. w ater supplem ental to th e .b a s ic form. These .water
forms did not. sesm to re la te in any way to the. region a s there w as no
d ir e c t counterpart in w ater m ovem ent.
The u se .of smooth sh e e ts of w ater
15
fallin g from th e fo u n tain w ould b e st in d ic a te -vvater p attern s of. th is ■
re g io n , .The wind could then play w ith th e s e ,sh e ets of w ater and pro­
d u c e , ever changing p a tte rn s . This, w ater form, could only be produced
by u sin g .fla t.tra y s w here the w ater might sp ill.o v e r th e .e d g e .
. The next, fountain, m odel, w as .an ,attempt to produce, th e s e ,s h e e ts
o f.w ater by. forming sh ap es in sheet, m etal.
The problem of cupping the
.m etal w as solved by p ressin g th e .s h e e ts betw een o n e-w ay plow .discs
i n a h ydraulic p re s s .
This developed th e w ater p a tte rn s .d e s ire d , but
in d ic a te d th a t it w as im p o ssib le to p red ict the w ater p a tte rn s of a .fu ll
s iz e fountain Trom th e sm a ll.s c a le .m odel.
The firs t full siz e ..fountain co n sfru cted w a s tw elv e ie e t in
h e ig h t from th e ,bottom t c th e top of th e ..uppermost tray (figure. 3 .) , The
bottom pipe w as screw ed into the in ta k e from the w e lls .
The intake
pipe s e t in concrete, w a s strong enough to support th e w e ig h t of the
fountain and any th in g that.m ight craw l upon i t.
The upright pipes, s ta rt­
ing w ith ,a four in ch pipe, at the.bottom ,■ w ere reduced in s iz e u n til the
.uppermost pipe w a s two in c h e s in diam eter.
T hese pipes w ere arc
w elded to g eth er in a b ra n c h -lik e stru c tu re . . The .trays in th is fountain
w ere u se d o n e-w ay plow d is c s ,tw en ty -o n e in c h e s .in diam eter having-a .
two and o n e -h a lf in c h .depth. . T h ese,d isc s.w p re u s e d a s.th e y tie d in
w ith th e .ag ricu ltu re.o f th e.re g io n .
They also , su g g e ste d the bottom s of
th e cum ulo-nim bus.-clouds.w hich pour dow n th e summer ra in s , creating
Figure 3. F irst full siz e d fountain, showing w ater action
which w as not a c c e p ta b le .
■a ,dual re la tio n sh ip w ith the bottom curve o f .the pool.
. This fountain show ed the behavior of th e w ater as it w as
forced upw ard and out. of the tra y s .
Each tra y had its individual in ta k e
w hich had to .b e re s tric te d in o rd e r to force the w ater to the top-m ost
tra y .
This c a u se d e x c e ssiv e p re ssu re , spraying w ater h o rizontally out
. of. the tr a y s . . To co u n teract t h i s , a ring w as placed around ,each in ta k e
to break th e sp ray .
T he.w ater in the low er tray s boiled, and the -result­
ant w ater form, d id not. have the d e s ire d e ffe c t. .After seeing, the full
S iz e fo u n ta in , th e p o s itio n a l r e la tio n s h ip s Cf th e tra y s se e m e d to la c k
!
u n ity w ith the pipe forms, and adjustm ent, w as n e c e s s a ry in the fin a l
fo u n tain .
The fin al fountain w as m ade two feet.low er in height than the
o rig in al full, s iz e one (figure .4 .), This produced a g rea ter volume of
w ater w hich in flowing oyer th e .d is c s -made a more in te re stin g p a tte rn .
T w enty-six inch d ia m e te r d isc s w ith a four inch, depth w ere u se d .
The
volume of . water, h e ld .by th es e tray s .w as,enough to handle the p re ssu re
a n d the .boiling, c e a s e d .
The p o sitio n a l rela tio n sh ip s .of the .trays Were
a d ju ste d to a ch iev e a g reater u n ity in the total.form .of fountain, w ater
and pool (figure 5 *)
I
.
A c lu s te r of th ree underw ater lig h ts.w as in s ta lle d a t th e b a se
o f.th e p ip e. . T h eS efh rew lig h t on the.bottom s of th e .tra y s , into the
fa llin g w ater, and. c re a te d a glow in t h e .surrounding p o o h
The
.
Figure 5. C lo se up of final fountain. Shows d e ta il of co n ­
stru ctio n and w ater a ctio n . Harold Babcock is adjusting flow r a t e s .
illum ination .through the. fallin g w ater rem inds one .of. the.A urora ■
B o re alis, so, evident, a s i t plays i t s lig h td ..upon the night sky in th is
fla t la n d . B ecause th e Aurora B orealis is ever dram atic in this, region,
during the w inter months., i t had b e en .se lec te d ,, years, before, a s the
Symbol for N orthern M ontana C o lle g e , By chance t h e n ,. th is.lig h te d
.,fountain had gained ad d itio n al, sym bolism , . S ince th e fountain i s .made
Of b lack iron, it. w ill gradually acquire a. color of its own and w ill more
and more develop k inship w ith the rock form ations .and th e w inter trees..
CHAPTER V
. THE. WALL
\
- W hen i t becam e apparent that, th e s iz e and shape .of the pool
w ere such th at there ,wouM.be a co n sid era b le .amount o f.w in d -cau sed
,ev ap o ration, th e u se .of..a .wall betw een the pool and prevailing, w ind
w a s thought n e c e s s a ry . . This, w all could a lso provide a favorable clim ­
a te .for. the. growth of p la n ts on the ,d o w n w in d .sid e, . F a c ilitie s for
housing th e pumps and v a lv e s for. th e irrig a tio n system w ere a ls o
n e c e s s a ry .
.The, w a ll.a s f irs t co n ceiv ed w as th a t i t should.seem to grow
out of the. e x istin g la n d s c a p e .a s .did th e igneous e x tru sio n s forming m any
of th e h ills in th e reg io n . F ie ld .s to n e , rammed .'earth ,. c e m e n t,, and
brick w ere the m aterials, exam ined for u s e in this. w a ll.
The c o s t for a
w a ll of this, type and s ty le irre g a rd le ss of .th e m aterial, u se d w o u ld have
b een p ro h ib itiv e. I t was. a ls o a p p a re n t that, the w a ll m ight c o n stitu te a
h azard .fo r c h ild r e n .;
A fre e -sta n d in g w a l l , re la te d in m a te ria l to buildings, on the
cam pus, could, serve th e .dual function o f,a p artial.w in d break, a t.th e
sam e tim e th a t i t incorporated into its . structure ,room, fof fhe pump and
-valyes for the irrig atio n .system . . These, could.be p lac ed in hollow, a b u t­
m ents on ,either e n d of the w a l l ..
Turbulence on..the-down .wind, sid e .of such .a w all, w ould have
.been detrim ental to plant.grow th and w ater.rete n tio n , .Something was.
n ecessary, to le s s e n th e w in d .velocity immediately, a b o v e th e w a ll and
smooth o u t.th e flow oyer th e to p . ,A louver system , w ould .fulfill th is
function b y .red u cin g .th e vortex c a u se d .b y th e p re ssu re in te rru p tio n ,
M ethods ,and .m aterials for co n stru ctio n :had to .b eex am in ed when the
w a ll m aterial w as-d e cid ed upon,.
A technique-exam ined for developing th e d re e standing w all
w as th a t of carv in g ,directly, into w e t b ric k , c re a tin g a low. re lie ffp rm .
The lig h t factor due to th e positioning ,of th e w a ll a t right, a n g le s to th e
prevailing, w ind w as not good. . A much higher re lie f was. co n sid ered in
co n ju nction w ith th e carved-w all., . This, could h a v e ,been ...done by b u ild ­
ing m etal, forms a n d p lacing them .directly.in.front.of th e w a ll.. .The p o s­
sib ility . of.vandalism., w a s a rea so n for d isc red itin g .m etal forms, on the
w a ll .su rface. The e n tir e id e a of a c arv e d w all w a s.fin a lly given up a s
t h e f a c ilitie s for producing.su ch a w a ll Were a v a ila b le only a t the Archie
-Bray Foundation a t H e le n a , T hese ideas, had involved frontal, develop­
ment, rath er th an th e three-dim ensional= and therefore d id n o t seem to
-Convey th e-feelin g of, sp a c e .e v id e n t in .the .region.
The technique se le c te d a s b e st.fo r solving th e problem s.in­
volved w as. th a t o f.u tilizin g , a brick w e ll, The .brick could, be ,reclaim ed
-from old Fort A ssin ib o in e,. seven miles, w e s t.o f p re s e n t-d a y H avre, ,As
a,.wall m aterial this, would b e s t ,relate to other buildings ,on the.cam pus,
,as it had been u se d to build Pershing H all on the N orthern M ontana
C ollege cam pus.
It. did not seem fe a sib le th a t a louver system b u ilt of brick
would lend i ts e lf to a scu lp tu ral id e a .a s rea d ily as. m etal.
The u se of
m etal a s .a louver m aterial., c re a te d th e problem of how to fabricate.it.
so as to g iv e ,a scu lp tu ra l treatm ent th a t m ight convey a sym bolic m ean ­
in g . .A sty liz e d trea tm e n t.o f indigenous p lan t forms in m etal w as c o n ­
sid ered but w as re je c te d in favor of. anim al forms, w hich would give
-additional sym bolism to the. to ta l,u n it.
.From the tim e of.the in cep tio n of the id e a of th e reserv o ir, it
w as apparent th a t it-w ould have little d irect im portance .to, or influence
upon, cam pus life u n le ss it provided a .point of em phasis in harmony
With a philosophy of c o lleg e lif e .
For th is point.of em phasis it.w a s
-felt a p lace of m editation,and refle c tio n would tie th e to ta l unit to the
sp iritu a l needs of the .students and in tim e becom e part of the trad itio n
o f.c o lle g e life at. N orthern. .A se atin g a re a , sh e lte re d .b y th e w all,
seem ed to be the m o st lo g ic al m ethod of providing th e visitor, to this,
.m em orial w ith a p lac e to re s t w hile observing the play of w ater on the
fountain.
This se atin g are a n egated th e .,dev e lo pment of a planting area
on the down w ind sid e of the .w all.
The w all, w as p laced tw e n ty -fiv e F eet.back from the e d g e of th e
.w afer,, and repeats..the curve at the -edge .of. the p o o l,.. As. c o n stru cted ,
i t i s tw en ty -fiv e fee t six in ch e s long .and..six .feet high. .At,eith er end
are the abutm ents.
These are th ree -fe e t w ide, five feet, deep, and
se v en fee t ta ll.. .T hese sim p le rectan g u lar sh ap es p la c e d in d irect r e ­
latio n .to th e .outer extrem ities of th e p o o l, seem to em brace it to ta lly ,
.At th e.sam e tim e , th ey give the w a ll a .fe elin g of se c u re n e ss and r e ­
peat. th e re c ta lin e a r shape of m ost of th e campus, a rc h ite c tu re . , The
a b u tm en ts.also serve th e purpose of housing the pum ping.and valve'
..equipment n e c e s s a ry for irrig atio n w hile .acting as b a s e s for the dom in­
ant p iec es of scu lp tu re (figure ,6.)
Between the w all and th e sidew alk i s a co n crete s l a b .
The
outer ex tre m itie s of th is sla b go directly, from th e co m ers of.the p y lo n s
tow ard th e .w a te r.
th e sid ew alk .
There i s a.step-dow n from, th e.e d g e of the s la b to
T his .slab -serves a s .a platform upon w hich to sta n d in
o b serv in g .th e.fo u n tain , pool, and w a ll.
. The w a ll.is -two b rick s.w id e .with .a.faked m ortar jo in t.
The
-bricks are a so ft common b ric k . ,From the b a se of th e .w all, the s e a t is.
c o rb elled .o u t to th e height of eig h teen in c h e s and extends the same
d ista n c e from the.w all, fa c e .
The top of th e Seat is..also brick. . W all,
ab u tm en ts,. and scu lp tu re dim ensions .w ere d icta te d by the n e c e s s ity
of rela tin g th e ir s iz e a n d .sc a le to one w ith w hich the v isito r to the
memorial could id en tify him self.
Figure 6„ W all w ith two scu lp tu re p ieces in p la c e .
d e ta il of brick u sed and opening into abutm ents.
Shows
CHAPTER VI
THE ANIMAL .FORMS
The m ost peculiarly, sig n ific an t regional, forms w hich would
a p p e a l to th e o b serv er, y e t c o n tra st w ith the purely a b s tra c t fountain
were, the anim als, indigenous to this, region.
Included was. prim itive
.man. .Since the w atering hole had been su g g e ste d .b y the reserv o ir id e a ,
th e "W atering Hole" a s.it.c o n trib u te d to the life of man and other c re a ­
tu res of th is region becam e th e them e for the p ro ject.
The prim itive m an who in h ab ited th is region w a s .the .Indian,
It w as d ecid ed he should be portrayed in the period a fte r the com ing of
th e h o rse .
On th e .so u th abutm ent th e sculptured Indian stan d s a to p
h is .h o rs e , a not uncommon thing for a horsem an to do.
H is.hands ape
ra is e d in su p p lic a tio n ,.a sk in g h is god for rain , or thanking him. for the
ra in w hich h a s ju s t begun to .fa ll. . ,Due-to the o p en n ess of the. sc u lp tu re ,
th e Indian in a n y pose other than standing would h av e.b e en lo st,
spiritually, and p h y s ic a lly ,.. The horse, stan d s in. a p o se of p atien ce .and
resig n atio n .(figure 7 „)
Acros s - from th e Indian, on the.north abutm ent, stan d s the
buffalo; the buffalo who. provided, food,, c lo th in g ^ and sh e lte r for the
In d ian . W hile th e buffalo is. p o rtrayed'w ith.em phasis.upon h is bulky.
Stolid b u ild , h is flee tn e S s and m obility a s he m oves a s one w ith .the
Figure 7.
H orse and rider in p lac e on south abutm ent.
p ra irie r are .suggested-by the openness of.the form, (figure 8.)
.
. Surmounting .the .connecting, w all are th e animals, of le s s e r im­
portance to the Indian., yet equally im portant in th e .ecological re la tio n ­
sh ip s.o f the .G reat.P lains.region.
They are the .anim als w hich m oved in
g re a t numbers over th is.la n d : th e an telo p e, e lk , -deer, and bear
(figures 9 an d 10.)
. All of the.form s are ..quite reco g n izab le to .th e laym an e v en
though th e y w ere b u ilt up from an .arrangem ent.of purely, a b stra c t g e o ­
m etric s h a p e s . E ach is su g g e stiv e , not d e scrip tiv e ; o b jec tiv e , not
. d e co rativ e.
Each anim al re la te s d ire c tly to the ."W ater H o le " and is.
harm onious in its c o -e x is te n c e w ith th e Indian. . Each..animal h a s.b e e n
developed in re la tio n to its in d iv id u a l c h a r a c te ris tic s . The openness
of the stru ctu re is .su g g estiv e of the constant.rhythm ic movement of. the
g r a s s e s , th e drifting snow s, the h erd s of a n im a ls ,.th e m igrations of
trib e s o f.In d ian s, th e e n d le ss ly changing sky.,
The animal, forms are b lack eighteen gauge .cold ro lled s h e e t
s t e e l c u t into g eo m etric,sh ap es and w elded to g eth er. . The sh e e t m e ta l
is reinforced a t c ritic a l points..w ith th e u se o f s te e l rod. . S teel bolts
w ere w eld ed into th e fe e t of each anim al form to fa s te n e a c h in its
p la c e . . The ,wall, and ..abutm ents. are .capped with, sh e e t s te e l which i s
b o lted to the b rick .
T hese -caps a r e reinforced, w ith two inch angle
iron.under the m ain fig u re s . .W ith th is.arran g em en t, th e figures can be
Figure 8.
Buffalo in place on north abutm ent.
Figure 9. M odel of w all and sc u lp tu re , showing profile
view of horse and rid er. S cale I" = I " .
Figure 10.
Model of w all and sc u lp tu re , showing profile
rem oved if n e c e ssa ry by the crew of the p h y sic a l plant- at N orthern,
bvt cannot be removed, by van d als unless,.they re so rt to the u se of a
hack saw .
The s iz e .of . the an im al forms a s they, developed were ,dictated,
by the need to re la te them to the .siz e .o f the w a ll, fountain, w alk, and
v iew er.
The horse .stands, three a n d o n e -h a lf.feef. ta ll to the top of h is
w ith ers and is six fe e t.lo n g .
The .rider and horse a re nine fe e t.ta ll.
■The buffalo is five fee t tall, and six and o n e -h a lf.fe e t long.
The bear
i s two and th re e -fo u rth s.fe e t ta ll and.four and one,^ h a lf fe e t long.
Thp
elk is four fe e t.ta ll, and is. .five fe e t lo n g . The ,deer is three a n d o n e h a lf fee t, ta ll and is th ree fee t long. . The antelope is th ree-feet ta ll,
and is.tw o and o n e -h a lf.fe e t long.
.The forms a r e .lighted a t night by four sp o tlig h ts,, each p air
m ounted upon the top of the .two abutm ents a n d focused, toward the op­
p o site abutm ent and th e .wall..
The c r o s s light, em phasizes the openness
,of the forms a s . i t . contrasts,.'w ith the so lid ity of th e .su p p o rt.
These,
h arsh c o n tra sts a g a in st, the night sky giye the .feeling of in tangible
-movement as if th e s e c re a tu re s.w e re arriving o ut.of a not too d ista n t
past.
. As the b lack steel, ru s ts it w ill develop a. p a tin a o f its ,own.
This p atin a w ill re la te th e forms more .d irectly w ith the w a ll, fountain,
and surrounding cam pus (figures. 11 an d 12,)
Figure 11. Photograph of model of memorial a re a . View
looking south. Shows rela tio n sh ip to ro ad s, sid e w alk s, and bull
ings on c am p u s.
Figure 12.
Model of memorial area looking e a s t.
CHAPTER VII
■CONCLUSION
The im portant .consideration of this, project i s w hether it
achieves, a to ta l unity, w ithin its e lf , th e .campus, and the region w hile
functioning a s a reserv o ir, and m em orial.to th e la te Max P. Kuhr„
One m u st.co n sid er th is p roject then in the lig h t o f.the philosophy of
th e a u th o r. This i s th e .expression of.w hat the author fe lt w ere the
e sse n tia l.q u a lify in g elem ents in an ev alu atio n .o f h is rela tio n sh ip s to
th e region p a s t and p re se n t, and th e factors.w hich developed it and its.
p eo p le.
The .universal tru th s of scu lp tu re w ere -felt to be the m ost v a lid
m ethod of conveying th is -expression to o th e rs .
.Sculpture e x is ts .a s th ree dim ensional form in tim e a n d .sp a c e .
Time and sp a c e .a re the .e s s e n tia l.c h a ra c te ris tic s of th e region. At th is
tim e th e.n e w n e ss of the m ateria l.w ill ta k e .away the ,feeling of tim e, but
it is hoped that, the stru ctu re and sym bolism in the .various parts is.
-t-
g reat enough th a t when th e anim als used, su g g e stiv ely have -disappeared.,,
the re la tio n sh ip of the p a rts,, th e o p e n n e ss of th e,fo rm s, the inherent
sym bolism , w ill be great-enough th a t the .fountain u n it w ill tran sce n d
th is c iv iliz a tio n and becom e a part of tim e. U n til then one cannot d e ­
term ine th a t a to ta l u n ity h as been a ch iev e d *
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
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