Masonry Magazine December 1983 Page. 13
This abstract sculpture by artist Ken Williams is made of chromite gray brick and decorates the lobby of 1900 Grant St. in Denver. Dach Masonry Co., Inc. of Denver was the mason contractor. (Photo by T. S. Gordon)
BRICK SCULPTURE REDISCOVERED
The Babylonians started something that is still in vogue today. The ancient art of brick sculpture is appearing more frequently on new commercial and public buildings across the U.S., as architects rediscover this unique way of using the walls of a structure to tell a story or evoke a feeling.
Brick sculpture was first developed by the civilizations of Babylon and Mesopotamia, several centuries before Christ. The most famous example is the immense brick "Ishtar Gate" of Babylon, a 70-ft. tower carved with alternating tiers of dragons and bulls, attributes of the ancient gods.
Carved designs in masonry have been specified in buildings by many American architects, including Henry Hobson Richardson, who specified sculpted brick and stone in his highly ornamental structures of the late 1800s, and, more recently. Fred Bassetti, FAIA, of Seattle, Wash., whose brick-sculptured buildings of the early 1960s received substantial attention.
There was a relative gap in the use of brick sculpture in the U.S. during the mid-1960s through the late 70s, largely because there was a temporary decrease of interest in architectural ornamentation. But now that ornamentation is back in style, brick sculpture is appearing in numerous locations.
Brick Sculpture Increasing
A dozen or more brick sculptors are currently working on large projects throughout the country. Regardless of the artist's style or the image that is to be created, the process of constructing a brick sculpture as an integral part of a building involves close teamwork among several individuals artist, architect and owner, as well as the mason contractor and the masonry craftsmen.
According to brick sculptor Mara Smith, the process begins with site visits and meetings with the owner and architect to reach final approval on the artistic concept. Then, inside the plant of the brick manufacturer providing materials for the building, she begins carving the clay brick while they are still green, and numbers each one to designate its place in the overall configuration. After firing, the brick are shipped to the site where masonry craftsmen, under supervision of the mason contractor and Smith, put them in place, like pieces in a huge jigsaw puzzle.
Two of Smith's more notable projects are the sculptured panels on the prestigious Loews Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas (Masonry, July, 1979) and the Hamilton Lakes complex in the northwestern Chicago suburb of Itasca (Masonry, May, 1981). Hamilton Lakes consists of a 420-room hotel connected to a 14-story, 484,000 sq. ft. office tower. Both buildings feature extensive use of masonry panels.
The sculptures, which are as large as 14 x 22 ft., show bigger-than-life-size human figures and animals such as a puma and a unicorn in activities of folklore and myth.
According to project architect Ralph Cincinelli, AIA, of Wilson Jenkins &