A most distinctive edifice of College America practically begs for artistic interpretation
One of the most distinctive structures on a college campus, and certainly one of the most recognized landmarks in New York's Capital District, the Nott Memorial has always attracted attention and excited the imagination. Students originally called it “The Cheesebox” and “one end of the bolt that holds the earth together.” Later sobriquets included “Minerva's Breast” and, when the building housed the library, “The Nipple of Knowledge.” It's also been known as Alumni Hall, Graduates Hall, Memorial Hall, and the “round building.” This unusual edifice practically begs to be interpreted artistically.
The Nott Memorial was conceived as the centerpiece of Union College by Jean-Jacques Ramée in 1813. Ramée's “chapel” was plain, round, and windowless; he envisioned the building as an alumni hall. Its placement and surroundings fit in the Renaissance tradition of the Ideal City, espoused by Piero della Francesca.
Edward Tuckerman Potter, Class of 1864 and grandson of Eliphalet Nott, was the architect for the initial construction, from 1858 to 1875. Potter originally planned a white-and-gray stucco brick building, to resemble the surrounding buildings, but by 1872, he'd decided to introduce color into the design by calling for colored stone and including gothic windows. A proposal in 1874 would have crowned the dome with a bronze statue of Eliphalet Nott. (This idea was revived briefly in 1973). In 1903, the College Library was moved from Washburn Hall to the Nott Memorial, which had just been renovated with money given by Andrew Carnegie to make it habitable year round. The library remained in the Nott until it moved in 1961 to the newly built Schaffer Library. The Nott went on to house the Union Theater Department until the Yulman Theater was built in 1992. The Nott was then closed for a major restoration (price: $9.5 million, plus a $1.5 million maintenance endowment). The building was rededicated as a highlight of the Bicentennial celebration in 1995.
Today, the Nott is a unique, much-admired space used for lectures, concerts, exhibitions, and study.
Because the Nott served as home to the Theater Department for two decades, it's not at all unusual that Professor of Theater Charles Steckler feels abiding affection: “I pretty much lived there. We had academic space, and a theater-in-the-round, where we held rehearsals at night.” He once baked a birthday cake in the shape of the Nott for a colleague. “Too bad I never took a photo,” he laughs. He remembers well when the most recent restoration began: “The Nott was beautiful even when covered with scaffolding.”
Inspired by its distinctiveness, Steckler created an image of the Nott with a face peeking out from under the dome. This character, called “Jack-in-the-Nott,” was featured on theater posters (“Union Theatre-If it's Nott for you, tell a friend!”) as well as on t-shirts (“Nott Memorial Theatre 1961-1991, Celebrating Thirty Years”).
To promote a production of Alice in Wonderland, Steckler once took some of John Tenniel's original drawings and collaged them over the Jack-in-the-Nott (Jack was erased for the occasion). The poster was printed in reverse on the back-a trompe-l'oeil to hang on glass doors around campus.
Another poster, with a mysterious puzzle-like appearance, seems to be made up of different squares. In fact, it was executed in twenty sections, by multiple student artists-a collective assignment in a printmaking course Steckler taught in 1976. The original, which measures 4 by 5 feet, now hangs in Grant Hall. “The project went so well,” says Steckler, “that we held an exhibit in the Nott called 'The Student Prints-Relief Printmaking at Union College.'”
Our thanks to Special Collections for their help in sorting through Nott memorabilia. We (and they) are always on the lookout for more. If you have ever seen a Nott teapot, or a knitted Nott, or maybe macramé (a knotted Nott), or any interesting Nott artifacts, we'd love to hear from you. Contact us, at caseyc@union.edu.
Reproducing the Nott
The Nott as converging technologies project? Why not! Engineering students are using a new 3-D printer to produce testable prototypes, including plastic models of a wide range of objects such as springs, golf club heads, and propellers. A model of the Nott was inevitable. How does it work? Data is entered into a computer and what comes out of a “printer” is a plastic replica of the Nott-a kind of “three-dimensional Xerox,” says Dean of Engineering Bob Balmer. “Think of it not as sculpture,” he points out, “but as a kind of print.”
This spring, engineering is teaming with visual arts for a course on sculpture that will use the 3-D printer to teach computer-aided design to art students. Says Balmer, “It's the same techniques in both disciplines. It's how you apply them that's different.”