Initial Thoughts

At first glance, Scepter by Steve Tibbetts appears boring and easily overlooked. It’s rough and rusty exterior creates a dark red hue which blends into the surrounding buildings, and its height is the same as the surrounding light fixtures on campus. A slender humanistic form with a heavy top, once again mimics the style and structure of the light posts surrounding the sculpture. Tucked between Miller Hall and Fraser hall, off center in the special plane, the piece becomes hidden and is not the focal point of red square. These physical attributes deem it nearly unidentifiable, so much so that we hadn’t even realized the sculpture was there before being asked to seek it out. The work doesn’t command a strong emotion or inspire interaction. Especially in comparison to the larger black sculpture nearby who’s innovative modern design asks the viewer to react, Scepter appears insignificant.

After further contemplating its title, we were able to see its slender disposition as strong and powerful. Titling a sculpture with such a silent presence as Scepter seemed unusual and uncharacteristic of the piece. A Scepter is a staff which is meant to be strong enough to lean on and command authority. However, we realized this strength is essentially achieved through the long and lean design and the strong triangular composition which gives the impression of a balanced scale or hour glass. In addition, we learned that the piece was composed in the early 70’s, which was an important and destructive time in America. During this time, the Vietnam war was still in full swing and popular art was very graphic. We thought that maybe this piece has deeper meaning. That the balanced scale represented in the scepter’s humanistic form could perhaps be sending a message of balance in a time of destruction. Also, the sculpture was created using old car parts, implying a reuse of material that otherwise would have been destroyed. The pairing of used car parts and the time period suggest a stronger message of strength that can be composed from destruction. However, we came to the conclusion that without knowing the significance of the time period and the materials used to create it, the piece would still feel unimportant at first glance.

Research

About the Artist: Steve Tibbetts

Steve Tibbets was a graduate of Western Washington University, who won an award with this sculpture in a student competition. He was personally inspired by a Spanish Architect and Designer, Antoni Gaudi, whose buildings blended the natural world with the built world in order to create something complex and aesthetically pleasing. You can find another piece by Tibbetts at Whatcom’s Museum of History and Art, where he created the main chandeliers.

About the Work: Scepter

Scepter, a sculpture created by Steve Tibbetts in 1966 was originally created for a student competition on campus. Tibbetts won and upon graduation, the Associated Students group which was formed in 1968, bought the piece from him to be showcased on campus. The Associated Students started out as a group of Huxley students who wanted to make the campus more environmentally aware and created a campus-wide recycling procedure. The group thought that this piece would be perfect to represent their intentions of a more environmentally friendly campus because Scepter was created entirely with old car parts and was in itself a symbol of reusing/recycling. Seeing the good qualities in these used car parts, he was able to mold and sculpt the piece into a human form that represents power and sovereignty. From the artist’s point of view, this piece was something new and innovative in comparison to the only two other sculptures at the time which were Fitzgerald’s fountain and Warsinske’s tower. During the periods of the 1960’s were a very troubling era of American history showing great strides in terms of progressiveness while also being a time of regression in many aspects of society.

Many see Scepter as a social commentary of the 1960’s, implying that America had recreated itself and was in search of identity. From what once was a stylish 50’s car, it had become trash and was treated like junk until Tibbetts decided to give it hidden meaning. Having an almost human-like structure it can represent society or a person in the cycle of recreation/rebirth or changing perspectives. At the same time, the slightly geometric characteristics of the scepter is a symbol for power throughout all of history. With nothing around the scepter, it creates the appearance of a bare and boundless world. Lone as it stands with a sneer of cold command over nothing, it could easily be overlooked but when noticed, it’s more significant and powerful. Showing the passage of time and brings the question what authority is and who has it much like the 60’s.

About the Time Period: 1966

The 60’s were at time of the Great Society and the rise and fall of the Kennedy family. Being one of the youngest presidents our culture had high hopes and showed pride in being American with Kennedy having plans for massive amounts of progressive reforms and expansions of government programs. This country had a can do attitude and was ready to show the world we were a superpower that was going to stay.

With the Cold War in full swing the Vietnam War had a remarkable and horrifying impact on the American psyche. With the invention of the TV the Vietnam War could be seen at home with all its glory and all its horrors. Giving rise to the polarization and dividing of America into those who support the war (silent majority) and those who do not (vocal minority). In addition to the Vietnam War and the chaos abroad,

right in the streets of America the fight for civil rights was occurring. With all the nonviolent protesting seen on the TV and how the mistreatment for blacks and other minorities were in the plight of nonviolent protesting. LBJ and Congress lobbied for the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act and equal protection laws that granted the same opportunities in the workplace for anyone, making discrimination by law illegal.

The Counter Culture of the 60’s, was a mix of all minorities of all colors, socioeconomic class , and genders agreeing that change was happening too slow and were pretty angry with the system. Soon, becoming more militant and taking over college campuses across the country. Later becoming more militant or giving up the life all together and becoming hippies. In the Summer of 1969, Woodstock happened. Peace and Love and a ton of drugs