Controversial sculpture set to go atop Capitol dome

TOPEKA, Kan. -- For decades, the only thing crowning the Kansas Capitol dome was a 750-watt light bulb.

Now, after years of delays and budget wrangling, the tower atop the Statehouse dome is set to hold a 3-ton, 20-foot bronze statue titled "Ad Astra" -- a piece depicting a Kansa Indian hunter shooting an arrow at the stars.

The huge sculpture was expected to be hoisted onto the dome Monday afternoon.

"I never had any question that it was going to go up there," Salina sculptor Richard Bergen said during a recent interview.

Budget concerns have always dogged the question of what should be on top of the Capitol. An 1889 plan called for a statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, atop the then-unfinished dome. But generations of legislators and state officials balked at the cost and the idea of honoring a pagan figure.

Up until a decade ago, a 750-watt bulb made do. The state then replaced it was a 250-watt high-pressure sodium bulb, which burns brighter and saves energy.

The name of the work comes from the state's motto, "Ad Astra per Aspera," Latin for "To the Stars through Difficulties." The hunter's arrow points to the north star.

Though "Ad Astra" was supposed to go atop the dome in time for a dedication ceremony July 4, 1990, cost of the work on the dome helped fuel delays.

Bergen still might be waiting were it not for Gov. Bill Graves, a Salina native and fan of "Ad Astra." This year, Graves vetoed a provision in a budget bill designed to halt the project, then insisted the state go ahead, despite its budget problems.

Workers spent much of the summer reinforcing the Statehouse dome to hold "Ad Astra." Plans also call for two sets of spotlights to be mounted on the roof of each of the Capitol's four wings, said State Architect Thaine Hoffman.

The state has spent $614,000 to finish the work. Bergen is trying to raise between $100,000 and $200,000 to pay the bill for the statue's casting at a foundry in Loveland, Colo.

Even the position of the hunter's bow and arrow has come under criticism.

The Indian's right hand holds the bowstring back; his left is on the bow; the arrow is to the right of the bow. Bergen says many people have told him the arrow should be on the left. But he maintains his research backs up his version.

Kansa hunters carried their bows horizontally, with the arrow resting on a knuckle of the left hand, he said. A hunter crept up on his prey and got within a few feet before taking a quick shot.

"He doesn't shoot at something that's 100 yards away," Bergen said. "If you're hungry and you want something to eat, you don't take a chance on missing your shot."

Bergen also learned during his research that Topeka was in the middle of what had been the Kansa's hunting grounds. He said that made the statue seem even more appropriate to him.

"This is their property," he said. "Who else would you put up there?"