Artist hopes statue will capture spirit of UI
Montana sculpture artist visits Moscow to give preview of planned 9-foot-tall monument
University of Idaho students this week received a sneak preview of the new Vandal monument that will stand tall on campus next year.
Sculpture artist Gareth Curtiss spent the week talking to students on campus and creating a scale model of the future bronze statue he was chosen to make for the school. The more than 9-foot-tall statue is of Joe Vandal and it is being called the Associated Students of University of Idaho Recognition Monument.
The statue is meant to honor the ASUI government that raised student fees to pay for construction of the Kibbie Dome’s roof in 1975. Former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne was ASUI president at the time.
The official name of the structure was the ASUI-Kibbie Activity Center until P1FCU paid for the naming rights in 2023.
Current ASUI President Martha Smith said she hopes the statue will remind people of the role students played in the creation of the Kibbie Dome’s iconic structure. The sculpture is expected to be completed in spring 2026.
Curtiss, who has more than 30 years of experience, was chosen out of 35 artists who submitted ideas. More than 1,500 students, alumni, faculty and community members responded to a survey to give their input on the monument’s design.
Curtiss said many respondents were in favor of the statue depicting the mascot standing next to a large “I” and wearing traditional Viking clothing.
When Curtiss visited Moscow, he was struck by how many people were second-, third- and fourth-generation Vandals.
He hopes this statue will honor those who have longtime connections to the school.
“This is an iconic figure representing the spirit of the school,” he said.
Curtiss, who has made more than 60 statues across the US, said he was attracted to this project because Moscow is close to his home in Montana and he has familial connections to the area. Curtiss said his grandmother was born in Moscow and several of his ancestors are buried in nearby cemeteries.
Smith said she prioritized artists who could visit Moscow and speak to the students. Curtiss spent the week making a scale model of the statue in the Idaho Student Union Building, and he gave an art lecture to students Thursday evening.
Curtiss said he enjoys activities like these because they connect him to the area where his statue will stand.
“The area gets connected to what I’m doing and they get to see something tangible happen,” he said.
Smith said it’s been great to see Curtiss interact with the students and show them what the future statue will look like.
“It’s been really fun to see Joe Vandal actually come alive,” Smith said.
Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.
