Spitball sculpture on Case Quad

Did You Know: Spitball

If you’ve visited the Case Quad sometime since 1972, there’s a strong chance you’ll recognize Spitball, the large black steel sculpture in the grassy area between Strosacker Hall and Sears Library Building.

The artist, Tony Smith, has been hailed as a leader of the Minimalist movement, though—according to his Britannica biography—he began his career as a carpenter and bricklayer for Frank Lloyd Wright, working on Taliesin among other buildings. He also explored painting in the Abstract Expressionist style alongside such notable friends as Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock.

After injuries sustained in a car crash prevented him from painting, he turned to sculpture, initially creating small models. He first constructed Spitball in 1961, designing it so that all surfaces facing outward reflect light whereas inward-facing surfaces absorb it, a technique that relies on angles and the sculpture’s location.

Case Western Reserve’s Spitball is the second of three original versions; the other two are in the Menil Gallery in Houston and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

In October 1967, he was featured with another of his pieces, Smoke, on the cover of Time magazine.

Smith passed away in 1980 at the age of 68. Since his death, his work has been featured in leading art museums and galleries, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the National Gallery of Art.