CONWAY — University of Central Arkansas sculptor Bryan Winfred Massey Sr. is creating a bear in the air.
Massey, a professor of art, has been commissioned to sculpt a stainless-steel bear to hang on the side of UCA’s Donaghey Hall, the four-story, $16.7 million building under construction at Donaghey Avenue and Bruce Street. The design was unveiled earlier this month.
Massey said he named the bear after his favorite character on The Andy Griffith Show — the often-inebriated Otis.
Otis will be 15 feet long, 8 feet wide and weigh between 2,500 and 3,000 pounds, Massey said.
The contract for the bear is $72,000, said T.J. Johnston, director of special university projects and community affairs.
Johnston said UCA President Tom Courtway had an idea for “something different,” and they discussed a public-art project with Patty Opitz of Polk Stanley Wilcox of Little Rock and project architect for the Donaghey Hall project. The conversation evolved into the idea of a bear hanging on the building, Johnston said.
“It’s a little different,” he said with a laugh.
Opitz said Courtway and Johnston came to the firm “wanting a direction,” and several ideas were discussed for the bear’s placement.
“It started out on top of the building,” Opitz said. “We got to thinking it might be pretty cool to having it climbing. It actually was all over the place — on the ground, on top — let’s just meet in the middle.”
The architectural firm contacted Art on the Green, a gallery in Conway, to “search for talent” to do the work, Johnston said.
“We’re very excited that [Art on the Green] proposed Bryan for this phenomenal project,” Walls said.
Massey said he was contacted in December by gallery director Brenda McClain about the project, but he didn’t know who the client was at first.
“I thought it was a good idea,” Massey said of the bear.
McClain said Art on the Green was hired to research artists all over the country for the project.
“We found some in Copenhagen; we found some, of course, in Denver, and Silicon Valley, I believe,” McClain said.
“Bryan had the best vision for what was needed. He just got it, and he certainly had the capability, so we were thrilled to put him with the project,” she said.
Wesley Walls, a principal architect for Polk Stanley Wilcox, said the $72,000 contract includes $68,000 for Massey and Art on the Green in Conway, and $4,000 for the architectural firm and Engineering Consultants Inc. of Little Rock.
McClain said Art on the Green’s percentage is 35 percent, which would be $23,800, and Massey would receive $44,200. Massey said he will buy the steel from those proceeds.
Walls said the contract amount does not include the cost of Nabholz Construction’s materials and labor for building modifications, which were estimated at $25,000. Walls said he “doubts very highly it will be close to that.” He said if he had to guess, he would estimate the cost closer to $10,000.
Massey said he ordered the stainless steel from Hot Springs, and he has 1/2-inch stainless-steel rods to make a “skeleton,” or armature, of the bear.
“I cover the entire thing with galvanized hardware cloth,” Massey said. Once the sculpture is covered, he will use corrugated board to cut shapes to fit on the armature.
“I use corrugated board as my pattern, cut it and place it on the bear, and give [each piece] a number,” Massey said. He said he will place the pieces in order numerically on a sheet of stainless steel and cut the pieces with a plasma cutter, then weld the pieces on the armature to create
the bear.
Otis will be attached with stainless-steel bolts to the northwest corner of the building on the Donaghey Avenue side, Johnston said. He said Otis is “a little bit more angular and modern,” and the bear’s head will be “looking back to the northwest corner of the intersection.”
“It’s not just about making that building unique; we hope it’s one of many public-art installations along this Donaghey Corridor between the campus and the community,” Johnston said.
Massey said university officials might do a time-lapse documentary on the project.
In his 28th year at UCA, he has a long list of commissioned artwork under his belt, including a 15-foot-high cyclone that was installed in August at The Center for the Arts at Russellville High School. He also created a 14-foot steel violin for the Grammy Museum that opened this month at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, and his credits
go on.
Where does Otis rank?
“It’s probably the most challenging one because of the way it’s going to go — the location — hanging it off a building. It’s a first for me,” Massey said.
He said he is “pushing for August” to complete the bear, and he had been waiting for it to stop raining to start. The bear will be built to withstand the elements, though.
“It’ll last — long after I’m gone, hopefully,” Massey said with a laugh.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.