There is little information available regarding the American sculptor Steve Tibbetts, but he is most known for his contribution to Western Washington University’s sculpture garden, Scepter. Tibbetts was born in 1943 and is now deceased. He also attended Western in the early 1960’s. Scepter won an award when it was entered in a contest held by the university in 1966 and was subsequently purchased by the Associated Students. It seems the artist’s original intent was to repurpose junk and turn it into art as well as incorporate the ideas of humanity and imperial authority.

During the time period that Scepter was created, Pop Art started to become big. The idea of “ready mades” was becoming more and more popular around this time period as well. Ready mades are pieces made from pre-made objects. Tibbetts embraced this idea and built Scepter out of car parts. Artists who embraced ready mades during this time are referred to as Neo- Dada artists. Neo- Dada is a continuation of the Dada movement as well as a contribution to the Pop Art movement. Tibbetts was also influenced by Spanish artist Antonio Gaudi, who was known for incorporating natural forms into plans for buildings.

Not much is known about Scepter. What we do know is that it was constructed out of steel from pre-1954 car parts. He was inspired by the sun rays on the car parts. The sculpture is a tall, thin structure located in Red Square on Western Washington University’s campus. The sculpture is also meant to represent a human figure as well as sovereign emblem. A sovereign emblem is a symbol representing leadership and authority. Other work that Tibbetts has done includes a steel sculpture called Machinations in the Mode of Senility which was in the Seattle Art Museum. He also made chandeliers for the Whatcom Museum of History and Art.

Steve Tibbetts is a sculptor who specializes in outdoor, abstract steel sculptures made out of reclaimed machinery. Although he has created a few influential pieces, not too much is known about the elusive Steve Tibbetts.

During the time that Steve Tibbetts was working on “Scepter”, many regional, national and international events were happening. In the Bellingham area, the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” campaign was gaining popularity. Steve Tibbetts was most definitely influenced by this as “Scepter” was created out of reused 1950’s car parts. Nationally, the U.S. was in the midst of a very tense space race against the U.S.S.R. This potentially had an influence on Steve Tibbetts as “Scepter” has a very metallic and industrial feel to it, much like the early satellites first launched into space. Another major event happening at the time of “Scepters” creation was the Vietnam war. The rusting of the steel on the sculpture is very reminiscent of the destruction of Vietnam during the war.

We wanted to capture the industrialization of ‘Scepter” using a 3D printed model that displays the texture, shape and mechanical feel of the sculpture. To achieve this, we used photogrammetry to produce a 3D model from the 300+ photos that we took. Using Autodesk Recap to stitch the photos together, we ended up with a textured 3D model of the sculpture.

After cleaning up the model, we then used a personal 3D printer to print off the model in white ABS plastic. To help replicate the beauty of Scepter, we painted the 3D print with brown acrylic paint.

By:

Erin Albrecht

Marlon Fussell

Kyra Planetz

Citations:

“Search Results.” Scepter, (Sculpture) | Collections Search Center, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Jan. 1960, collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=record_ID%3Asiris_ari_304696.

Bellinghamwalks. “The Western Washington University Outdoor Sculpture Collection Walk.” Bellingham Walks, 21 July 2017, bellinghamwalks.com/2017/07/21/the-western-washington-university-outdoor-sculpture-collection-walk/.

“Pop Art Movement, Artists and Major Works.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/movement-pop-art.htm.

Seattle Art Museum, www1.seattleartmuseum.org/eMuseum/code/emuseum.asp?style=browse¤trecord=1&page=search&profile=objects&searchdesc=Number%20is%2067.118&searchstring=Number/,/is/,/67.118/,/0/,/0&newvalues=1&newstyle=single&newcurrentrecord=1.

“Walking Tour with Artists.” Western Gallery, westerngallery.wwu.edu/files/WalkingTourwithArtists.pdf.