Heritage Snapshot Part 219: “The Good Samaritan” (Alan Collins)

LOMA LINDA >> The idea of a significant sculpture for Loma Linda University originated with Gaines R. Partridge, EdD, Dean of Student Affairs. On October 20, 1974, he presented a maquette (a small model) of a sculpture created by Alan R. Collins, DFA, FRBS. It depicted the parable of the Good Samaritan. He explained if the Board approved, funds for a large artwork would be available. It would be sculpted from white Indiana limestone. Later, it would be cast in bronze for a more permanent display. Partridge proposed a site between the Medical Center and the Administration Building. While the Board was considering all the ramifications of such an undertaking, the maquette of the Good Samaritan was kept on a pedestal in Partridge’s office. One day, Pastor Thomas Bradley brought a close friend, Dr. Reuben Matiko (Class of 1945) to see it. Deeply impressed with the symbolism and potential influence of the sculpture, and desiring to enrich the campus of his Alma Mater, Matiko offered to underwrite the commission. Not only was Partridge delighted, but this decision had a special meaning for Bradley as well. He was the one who welcomed 19-year old Alan Collins into the Seventh-day Adventist Church and later officiated at his marriage in London, England. Almost a year later, Dr. Bernard Brandstater addressed the subject. “(There is) a need for all of us to turn away from the present urgencies of life and buy ‘hyacinths to feed the soul.’” He reminded the Board that the sculpture would be created by a top-flight sculptor, Alan Collins. Moreover, it would be a gift to the University by an alumnus. Above all, it would be a work of art — one that would remind everyone on campus of the purpose of the institution. The Board suggested the figures be historically authentic. Although the sculptor respected this view, he felt that authenticity should lie in the deepest meaning of the parable rather than in the superficialities of surface treatment. Artists are able to speak directly to people in their own times in ways that more literally-minded historians are not. For example, by clothing the priest and the Levite in unspecific ecclesiastical and clerical dress, the sculptor hoped to widen the relevance of the parable to contemporary viewers. When the sculpture was commissioned in 1977, Collins, who was on the faculty of Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, traveled to a quarry near Bloomington, Indiana, and selected three large blocks of limestone for the project. They were shipped to his 45 ft. by 30 ft. studio (formerly a milking parlor). A skylight and balcony had been added to provide north light and a site from which to view the emerging sculpture. By summer 1978, the priest was completely roughed out and work began on the other figures. In his new teaching appointment on the La Sierra Campus of Loma Linda University, Collins resumed work using a smaller, metal Butler Building that had been adapted as his studio. Because of the heat, he often chose to work at night. He took four and a half years to complete the work, fitting it around his teaching schedule. The next step was the making of Styrofoam models, which were a third of the eventual size and coated with plaster. Each model was placed in a Plexiglas box, with two-inch square grids drawn on the four sides. The limestone blocks had six-inch square grids drawn on their sides. With drill, the sculptor pierced the Plexiglas boxes and measured the distances to the big points on the Styrofoam models inside, noting the relationship of the drill holes to the grid lines. Then he drilled into the limestone to the full-scale depths to the appropriate points on the larger grid squares. Once he had established these important points, he began to carve away the waste stone until the bottom of the drill holes appeared on the surface of the emerging figures. Brandstater, a dedicated supporter of the Good Samaritan project, was asked to plan and implement the dedication/unveiling ceremony that took place on May 3, 1981. This also coincided with the 75th anniversary of the founding of Loma Linda University. President Viggo Norskov Olsen, Brandstater and Collins made appropriate remarks on this auspicious occasion. Then came a dedication prayer, followed by a Bible reading of the Good Samaritan parable. Finally, the long-anticipated moment arrived when the sculptor and the major donor, Matiko, revealed the work. Shortly after the unveiling, a wrought-iron enclosure was erected and a bronze plaque and lighting installed. Meanwhile, the idea of the more-than-life-size statues gained support among the campus family. Dr. Jean Stewart Boyd would refer affectionately to the artwork as “Our Good Samaritan.” Her essay went on to critique the figures in depth: “The visual arts comprise one of the most effective ways to communicate spiritual concepts, and of these sculpture is the most permanent. Since May 3, 1981, the campus of Loma Linda University has been enhanced by an impressive four-figure sculpture depicting the familiar parable of the Good Samaritan. This is a story of the alchemy of heart, mind and hands, which unfolded as the 'Good Samaritan,' emerging from concept to completed masterwork. By day and by night it speaks eloquently to students, practitioners of the healing arts and others who come to worship in the nearby church. “The Good Samaritan is particularly relevant to the University, whose motto is To Make Man Whole. It is the will of the sculptor, professor Alan Collins, that his interpretation of this parable not only provide an aesthetic experience through the form but, more importantly, point people to Christ as the supreme example of compassion.”