Look a little closer on your way to class

by Tiffany Royal, Lauren Gross, and Rachel Guard
Staff Writers

Athens might not be known for its art, but there is always some to be discovered. By exploring the background and flavor of Athens' art and architecture, its artistic history clearly is present.

Many of the buildings on campus follow the conventions of colonial architecture, which is a combination of styles brought by settlers from Western European countries. Settlers next adapted their ideas to fit the materials and conditions of the new land. As far as it is known, no single new technique or form was created for North America.

On campus, Cutler Hall is an example of Early American Architecture. With its clock tower watching over the campus, it has been an Athens icon since the beginning of the university. Named after OU's cofounder Manasseh Cutler, it is the oldest remaining building.Located on College Green, it also is the oldest building designed for higher education in the Northwest Territory. Construction began in 1816 and was completed two years later after being designed by OU's cofounder, General Rufus Putnam.

The original structure of Cutler Hall was built with handmade bricks, stone, wrought iron nails and timber. The original purpose of the building was for 12-room housing. In 1839, Wilson Hall and McGuffey Hall were built as an addition. Cutler Hall has been renovated twice. It was first renovated in 1882 and again in 1947 when President Baker restored it by lowering the roof, removing the gables in front and making it an administrative building.

In 1983, the clock on the tower was replaced, proving that the building has stood the face of time.

One of the more interesting buildings on campus is Seigfred Hall, because of its exterior structure. The entrance to the building has a textured facade. It was created during the construction process by then Assistant Professor of Ceramics Henry L. Lin.

The stone steps that line the right side of the wall face the 50- by 80-foot mural painted by Assistant Professor of Art Aethelred Eldridge. The wall looms heavily over the steps, vibrant and strong in its black and white motif.

The series of murals began about 25 years ago, Eldridge said. Five murals have been painted in its place.

"The first (mural) was during the days of LSD with humanoids, androids, asteroids, Eldriods (those are mine of course)," he rattled off quickly. "It was painted all in color, as I used to paint that way before doing black and white."

From an artistic standpoint, the campus and the city are awash in a variety of art forms and monuments. From honoring old war vets to the modern artist, the area contains some interesting structures that are worth some reflection.

Athens has a three-part series of sculptures by artist David Hostetler, who received his masters in ceramics at OU and is now a professor emeritus of fine art at the university, said Doug McCabe, from the Special Archive Collection at Alden Library.

The three sculptures are located outside and in the lobby of the library and in the Ohio University Inn lobby. There are others all around the world - some that were bought for more than $45,000.

A significant sculpture is in the Thomas M. Wolfe Garden (professor emeritus of finance) behind Cutler Hall. A $15,000 donated gift from alumnus Jeanette Grasselli (class of '50), the sculpture "Standing Woman" is set in the middle of a musical note-shaped garden within the main garden.The sculpture is at the top of the whole note.

Then, when looking from the back of Cutler Hall towards Alden, the main garden itself is in the shape of the state of Ohio.

If one looks closely in the bed of ivy outside the Park Place entrance of Alden, there are large metal structures woven throughout the branches of winter's naked trees.

According to a May 29, 1969, press release from the archives collection at Alden, these 15-foot welded steel sculptures called "Albatross" were created by then-sophomore sculpture major Michael McConnell.

This two-ton welded sculpture has an inside structural form of a steel angle. One thousand six hundred small pieces are welded together to cover the curved edges. Designed in the summer of 1968, McConnell submitted a proposal for a $650 Fellows Award to fund the creation of the piece. During the spring, he worked exclusively on the sculpture and earned five credit hours.

On College Green, "the Monument," as it is fondly called, has Civil War significance. Atop the Civil War monument sits a Union sailor, a cavalryman and an infantryman. An artilleryman sits at the very top. Each statue used to have a weapon, but during one of the wars, the weapons were stripped from the statues, said McCabe. The cannons and cannon balls that used to sit around the monument were given up for the World War II movement.

The statues also were desecrated with graffiti and one of the statues still wears a graffiti peace sign visible if examined closely, McCabe said. The monument was erected in 1893.

Scripps Hall used to be Carnegie Library, after a $30,000 gift from Andrew Carnegie himself in 1903. This was the only library on campus until the construction of Chubb Hall. Renamed in 1985 after multi-media organization founder E.W. Scripps, the amphitheater on the backside of the building was named after the founder of the OU College of Communication, John R. Wilhelm. Usually many students can be found here on the first nice day of the quarter studying or sleeping beneath the shadowing oak trees.