Toth, (sculpture).

Toth, (sculpture).

Leicester, Andrew, 1948- , sculptor.

Toth, (sculpture).

Tower on the Hill, (sculpture).

Aug. 1983. Dedicated Aug. 27, 1983.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: mixed media, including timber, plywood, sandstone, metal, light, red sand, and gold-painted animal bones; Base: cement and rocks.

Sculpture: approx. H. 42 ft.; Base: approx. H. 10 ft. 3 in.

Kinetic, tower-like sculpture that includes a stack of timber cubes, rising from a nine-square base to a single cube 40 feet above the crest of the hill. The west facade has a teepee form; the east facade is gabled; the north facade recalls the frame of the Homestake Mine. Within the sculpture, stairs lead to a gold cube and a deep pit, the sculpture's "burial site." Gold-painted animal bones are buried in a cone of red sand. Rainwater and water from snow is channeled into the pit and combines with the red sand and pours into troughs. The bones are uncovered and the runoff stains the hillside. Sculpture highlights the four forces that dominate this area of South Dakota: fossils from prehistoric times; minerals--especially gold; the natural forces of wind, water and erosion; and the influences of humans. It incorporates elements of Lakota culture.

Architecture -- Industry -- Mine

Occupation -- Industry -- Mining

Architecture -- Domestic -- Tepee

Animal -- Other -- Skeleton

Ethnic -- Indian -- Teton Sioux

Abstract -- Geometric

Outdoor Sculpture -- South Dakota -- Rapid City

Administered by South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, 501 East St. Joseph Street, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701

Located South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Smelter Hill, Rapid City, South Dakota

Funded with a National Endowment for the Arts, Art in Public Places grant of $11,830 given in 1983 to the Sourth Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Additional funding was provided by Rapid City Fine Arts Council, Rapid City businesses and individuals, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and South Dakota Arts Council. The sculpture was sponsored by the Rapid City Fine Arts Council in cooperation with South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The structural design of this sculpture replicates the timber support system built in the earth by mines throughout the world to extract gold. The sculpture is located on the site of an original smelter. Steps of sculpture were removed because of safety concerns and access into the sculpture is no longer possible. The open pit areas have been screened and warning signs have been posted to keep off sculpture.

IAS files contain related articles from Progressive Architecture, Oct. 1984; Collegian (South Dakota State University), Feb. 9, 1983, pg. 7, and Sept. 15, 1982; Rapid City Journal, Oct. 24, 1982, Lifestyle section, pg. 11, and Oct. 25, 1982; Argus Leader (Sioux Falls, SD), Oct. 27, 1982; and Newsletter of the Rapid City Arts Council, July/Aug. 1983. IAS files contain other related materials.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, South Dakota survey, 1993.

Heritage Preservation SOS! survey of NEA Art in Public Places funded sculpture, 2002.

Progressive Architecture (Oct. 1984).

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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