Spring Break
'Ancient Hump Ring' actually 30
Sarah Zeeck
Issue date: 1/14/08 Section: News
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Despite its name, the structure is a sculpture rather than a historical artifact. John Spofforth, who has created sculptures from brick similar to the Hump Ring before and since its birth, crafted it over the course of a month in 1978.
The concept behind the sculpture can be left to interpretation. According to Western art professor Don Crouch, Native American archaeology of the area could have inspired the mounds. He said the mounds took one of the oldest sculptural forms: the circle.
The ring can also be interpreted in more of a sexual manner.
"It's kind of like the landscape of a female figure," Crouch said.
Former art student Mark Arctander agreed. "It's very sexual; the circle can be represented as vaginal or anal. A lot of art is about sex."
According to Spofforth, Crouch met him at the 1977 National Sculpture Conference in Arkansas.
"I was almost done (with a sculpture being worked on at the conference) when Crouch came right up to me, almost in my face," he said.
Spofforth added that Crouch then requested him to create a sculpture for Western on commission for the following school year. Spofforth accepted.
The next year, during the fall semester, Spofforth traveled from Ohio to Macomb to sculpt the ring. Spofforth and Crouch, with the assistance of art students Arctander, Gene Coon and Rich Bruce, took on the project. Arctander and Crouch were both impressed with Spofforth's methods.
"When (Spofforth) would work, it was all in his head," Crouch said.
"The way (Spofforth) worked was just amazing," Arctander said. "He knew his sculpture was going to be a circle, but he didn't know every curve and every hump until he began sculpting."
The ring had a lot of foundational work put into it even before the sculpture could appear above ground. Spofforth explained that the group first dug a doughnut shape in the ground. The hole was filled with a layer of intertwined mesh, four layers of steel rods and topped off with concrete.
"You had to mix concrete and keep up with (Spofforth)," Crouch added. "Once you start something like that, you work daylight to dark … It was a real experience."
Since its creation, the sculpture has had its fair share of weathering as well. A few lateral cracks have emerged along the sides from shifting ground and other natural causes.
Spofforth visited campus during the summer of 1995 and saw the cracks.
"I got some brown caulk from the hardware store in town and just caulked it all up and filled it in all around," he said. "There were about three or four separations."
Crouch also noticed the cracks, but since the endowment funded its creation only, there is no money for its upkeep.
"It needs a little repair," he added. "We're going to have to do that because in time, the weather freezing and pushing causes some cracks."
After the ring's completion, all involved went back to their previous engagements. Spofforth returned to Ohio where he currently resides as a sculptor, Crouch continued teaching as he still does today and the three art students finished with their education.
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