Western Washington University was remodeling their campus buildings in 1971 and they had requested Beyer create a sculpture to go in front of the library. The concept was for Beyer to decide but it was to be made out of granite. He chose to model the work after a local tale: “The Old Man and the Cougar”. In short, it was rumored that “there was a man living in a cabin nearby. He used to hunt cougar for bounty, roaming the hills with his dogs…he could no longer hunt. He took to drink. So now, with a cougar sitting on his lap, they both become drunk and sing ‘America’” (Beyer 40). Beyer wanted to convey a sort of “reconciliation of the bounty hunter and the cougar” (Beyer 40). Knowing that this sculpture would be highly visible, Beyer saw this sculpture as an “ecological instruction” (Beyer 40). Man and animal should rejoice together and not engage in the hunter/prey dynamic.

A 5 foot cube of granite was delivered to the site outside of the library in 1971. Beyer, his son and son in law worked on the sculpture for eight weeks. They used hand drills and power tools to carve out the figures of the man and cougar. 46 years later, the sculpture still stands where it was originally placed.

Beyer created The Man Who Used to Hunt Cougars for Bounty in 1972 in a grand total of three months. During the 1960s and 1970s, the United States was fueled by the desire to protect the planet at all costs. It was the dawn of the Modern American Environmental Movement in which the people of the United States became more aware of the danger the environment was in. The activist culture thrived during this time period in American history as more and more people joined the movement to pressure their politicians into helping the ecosystem. Multiple bills were signed into law (The Clear Air Act of 1970, The Ocean Dumping Act of 1972) to help protect the planet and to lower the amount of pollution on the Earth. In 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created to enforce federal regulation. By the year 1970, the Modern American Environmental Movement was at an all-time high. People were concerned for the wellbeing of their home planet. Americans were beginning to understand their responsibility. To ensure that the world we live in is taken care of. On December 28th, 1973, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 was signed into law. To help protect the endangered species and their ecosystems. Beyer wanted to create a sculpture that began a conversation. He wanted to show his audience that man and nature are one.

The late 1960s and early 1970s is when we really start to see contemporary art supercede modern art. The Man Who Used to Hunt Cougar for Bounty is a great example of the transition from modern art into the conceptualist and postmodernist movements. Modern artists were mostly interested in making a unique piece of art that didn’t follow traditional convention. (Contemporary Art Movements) If we look at the sculpture in front of Wilson Library we can see that it follows some traditional techniques – carving something from stone is an ancient practice – but the subject and structure of the piece are new and different. The figures are less defined and harder to make out and the story of the man befriending the cougar is an unusual inspiration for a sculpture.

Project by Gwendolyn Roley, Oscar Valencia, Hannah Hunt

Work Cited

Beyer, Margaret W., and Beyer, Richard S. The Art People Love: stories of

Richard S. Beyer’s life and his sculpture. Pullman, WA: Washington

State U Press, 1999. Print.

“Contemporary Art Movements Chronological list of Postmodernist

styles and artforms.” Contemporary Art Movements (1970-present).

N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Dunlap, Riley E., and Mertig, Angela G. American environmentalism: the

U.S. Environmental Movement, 1970-1990. London: Routledge, 2013.

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Dykstra, Peter. History of Environmental Movement Full of Twists, Turns.

CNN. Cable News Network, 18 Dec. 2008. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Rich Beyer Sculpture. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.