Art Professor Brad Bachmeier completes monumental brick relief sculpture
Bachmeier Pottery, aka MSUM art Professor Brad Bachmeier, was commissioned to create this significant monumental brick relief sculpture work and began researching and developing design ideas for the mural in December of ‘09. The mural imagery had to depict the history, mission, training as well as the local and global execution and performance of the North Dakota National Guard troops coming from Camp Grafton.
The finished mural size was 14’ in length by 6’ high and consisted of over 500 brick that were individually stacked and carved before being taken down, fired and installed during the first week of July 2010. The mural is located directly inside the main entrance of the building. Bachmeier was supported by two studio assistants. Having studied under nationally recognized brick sculptor Katie McCleary at UND, Bachmeier has now completed two large-scale brick works in addition to his more well-known raku and primitive fired vessels.
Gerry Kulzer, a member of both the Educational Advisory Board at the Walker Art Center and an ArtsConnectEd Fellow of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, calls the work “a significant regional piece of artwork ” for its “technically proficient execution, incredible amount of detail and sophisticated surface treatment.”
Hundreds of people, including special guests N.D. Governor John Hoeven, Rep. Earl Pomeroy, Major General David Sprynczyntyk, Tyler Axness representing Sen. Dorgan and Jim Hand representing Sen. Kent Conrad, attended the ribbon cutting, ceremony and grand opening of the new 164th Regiment Regional Training Institute (RTI) building at Camp Grafton in Devils Lake.
“I have long been committed to ensuring that these citizen soldiers receive the best equipment, facilities and service possible,” said Congressman Pomeroy. “The men and women of the North Dakota National Guard have demonstrated again and again that they are among the best in the country, and they deserve the very best facilities.”
A steadfast supporter of the North Dakota National Guard, Pomeroy worked with his fellow members of North Dakota’s congressional delegation to obtain the $30.5 million in federal funding that made this construction possible.
Sprynczynatyk gave a brief history of the RTI and talked about how the school benefits soldiers from throughout North Dakota and the nation. The 164th Regiment RTI is a fully accredited, Full-Time Reserve Component (RC) School which provides Engineer military occupational specialty (MOS) training.
The RTI Phase I is a fiscal year 2008 Grow the Force Military Construction Project. The $30.67 million contract was awarded on April 11, 2008. Construction of the 182,825 square foot facility began in May of that year.