A new bird soars high on a garnet wall in the lobby of USC Lancaster’s Starr Hall. Located just outside the bookstore, the gleaming gamecock is the first thing many prospective students and their parents will see on the campus.
The stunning steel bird, which was hoisted into place Nov. 5, measures seven feet across and five feet high, and weighs about 100 pounds, said Bob Doster, the sculptor who created it.
“I drew it, then cut it out of the stainless steel, rolled the wings, bent the feathers. Then I polished it,” said Doster, who received a BFA in sculpture from USC in 1975. “As part of the polishing process, I used a grinder to cut feather lines around the neck and on the body and wings. It’s an artistic technique that allows you to embellish as you go.”
The metal bird replaces a wooden gamecock that graced the same space for years but was removed about 10 years ago and never returned, said Susan Snipes, USC Lancaster bookstore manager.
University officials sought another gamecock, one created by a local artist, to be bolted in place. They commissioned the work from Doster, a well-known Upstate artist who works primarily in metal.
“I do some work in wood and stonework, occasionally paint, but mostly steel,” Doster said. “I just finished a five-story DNA helix for the University of North Carolina. It’s a stainless steel and bronze piece, located inside an atrium stairwell in the bioschematics building.”
The stainless steel gamecock at USC Lancaster is not the first piece of Doster’s art the University has bought. Another piece, an outdoor sculpture Doster created when he was still a student at USC, stood at the Humanities Building reflecting pond for years.
Copies of Doster’s gamecock—in large and small sizes—are available for purchase. For more information, contact Snipes at 6-7109.
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