Sculptured Wall - 1964 Salt Lake Public Library - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

The sculptured frieze was created by Miss Jo Roper of Montezuma NM. The artwork was cast by Otto Buehner Co.

Miss Roper was commissioned by the library committee in 1962 to create the abstract sculpture, but rather than just create a wall of free form abstractness, Miss Roper felt the frieze should say something about what was inside the building. It should suggest the character of the building. She designed a series of semi abstract figures growing from shallow relief to full and more recognizable relief on the other. "The figures represent all people. People who write and read books, and people whom books are written about. The figures don't represent any one man, but all men. Everyone who looks at them will give each a different individual identity."

Construction:
Miss Jo Roper created a small scale model of the sculpture (IAS 75008243). Once this was approved by the library board, the model was photographed and a negative flashed on a wall full scale. The figures were traced and the whole pattern marked off in one foot square sections.

Using a garage at the Buehner plant, two tables were covered with a layer of plaster of paris. Styrofoam pads were used in areas which had to be built up for the relief figures. Miss Roper completed the full scale positive molds in about four weeks. Negative molds where produced from the master mold in sections ranging from 6-8 ft wide to facilitate pouring and handling. Ornamental concrete was poured into the molds for the final product which matches exactly the precast concrete panels which face the rest of the building. Miss Roper and Mr. Buehner were then credited with the introduction of the use of massive sculptured walls in building construction in Utah and hoped to collaborate on other projects.

Text Source: Library Special Collections - Historic Library Scrapbooks - Article by Larry D. Finnegan, 1964

TITLE: Sculptured Wall, (sculpture) ARTIST(S): Jo Roper DATE: 8/4/1964 MEDIUM: Cast Cement and Stone CONTROL NUMBER: IAS 65640004 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: 209 East 500 South Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: The building is now The Leonardo - museum of art and technology http://www.theleonardo.org/ The library has moved.

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date of your visit, your impressions of the sculpture, and at least ONE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH. Add any additional information you may have, particularly any personal observations about the condition of the sculpture.

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