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Professor's sculpture now in horticulture garden
Monday, Dec. 19, 2011
Article by Emily Smudde, WSU News intern
Photos by Cynthia Arbour, WSU Capital Planning
Photos by Cynthia Arbour, WSU Capital Planning
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The statue, made from mild steel and then hand-rusted using a hydrochloric acid solution, was based on a 1.5 inch whale-bone carving found at the famous Ozette archaeological excavation site on the Olympic Peninsula, said Chris Bruce, chair of the campus art committee.
The excavation was of a Makah whaling village located near Ozette Lake that was buried in a mudslide, preserving the people’s houses and belongings. Makah and WSU scientists unearthed the village from 1970 to 1982 and were led by WSU anthropology professor, Richard Daugherty.
The steel statue that has resided in the IT Center Memorial Garden for 28 years was moved Dec. 16 to protect it from construction activities related to the Martin Stadium project, said Keith Wells, curator for the WSU Museum of Art.
The sculpture removed and transported down the street by Facilities Operations workers, where it was installed in the Horticulture and Landscape Garden on Wilson Road, east of the Lighty building.
"Not many people got to see the statue where it was,” Wells said. "We thought moving it would be a good complement to the garden. We want people to enjoy it.”The sculpture was created by now WSU retired anthropology professor Richard Daugherty, who worked at WSU Pullman from 1950-1985. He created the sculpture in 1983 in memory of WSU professor of plant pathology, Shirl Graham.
Prior to Graham’s death in 1970, the two had been exploring why the Makah artifacts at Ozette were so well preserved, Bruce said.
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