From the outset of his crusade to upgrade Montgomery’s downtown, David Bronner felt that a reasonable complement of art, fountains and other embellishments were necessary to produce the image he sought.  Beginning with the RSA Plaza and the Alabama Center for Commerce, he had PH&J join force with Jean Belt of Corporate Art Source to locate and secure appropriate pieces of art to hang in his buildings.  PH&J formed a committee of three to cull through scores of possibilities located by Belt and thereafter to submit nominations to the Man for approval.  It was like putting on your own art show.

We quickly ascertained that Bronner’s taste in art ran to the conservative, and it would bug Jean Belt that not a single contemporary piece graced any RSA building.  In addition to honoring this preference, he gave us but one guiding principle:  whatever we selected had to be an Alabama scene, the work of an Alabama artist or a that of a former resident of Alabama.  Supposedly such a correlation would make our endeavor politically correct.  On many occasions our committee would find the perfect piece for a given space, and then spend days trying to think up an Alabama connection to qualify it for purchase.

The Burnt Can Lobby

The painting of the Oxymoor Course which hangs in the Tower rear (“burnt can”) lobby, and which was signed (near the center in block letters) with a black Magic-Marker by Bobby himself as it hung on the wall.

Usually we could locate something appropriate in scale, color and subject for any space we encountered, but the scale and color of the RSA Tower Security (rear) Lobby did pose a difficult problem for us.  This was the rear lobby of the two-lobby scheme that resulted from the AmSouth lease dictum that no restaurant could open into the lobby that its branch bank opened to.  We called this second lobby the “burnt can” space.

It seems that project designer John Gandy could not find a suitable color for the walls of the space, which was heavy with mahogany and ebony wood along with dark granite floors and wainscots.  Finally, while traipsing in the woods one day, he espied an old empty bean can, blackened in a burnt-out fire, and exclaimed that it was exactly the right color.  John proudly carried the can to the painter and demanded that he match the blackish hues.  It’s now three years later and the remainder of the Tower team is still reserving judgment on Gandy’s selection.

But anyway, the Burnt Can Lobby proved so difficult in scale and color that not a single piece of art could be found to do the space justice.  No painting large enough for the huge wall spaces and ceiling height was available on the ready market.  Ergo, we commissioned two artists to each paint a scene particularly for the very area.  For each one we stipulated a subject, color tones and a size which we hoped would complement the space.

Dr. Bronner and Robert Trent Jones during the planning of the RSA Golf Trail.

For the east wall of the lobby, we ordered a 4′ x 5′ landscape depicting Dr. Bronner’s favorite hobby and investment, the Bobby Jones Golf Trail.  The artist we selected was from Birmingham and he selected a view of a hole on the Oxmoor Valley Course right there in his home town.  His painting is a relatively handsome piece that does well for the Burnt Can room, and Jean Belt, who arranged the commission, was quite proud of the result.  So proud, in fact, that when she chanced to see the world famous golf course architect strolling through the Tower lobby one day, she invited him to co-sign the work inasmuch as he had designed the actual hole that was depicted.  To her horror, Bobby Jones took a marker and signed his name in large block letters right on the green which comprised the center of the piece, almost turning it into commercial art.  But all is well–whenever Dr. Bronner passes by he happily points out the famous signature to his guest of the occasion.  I’ve never heard what the artist thinks, or if he even knows.

For the west side of the space we commissioned a large 4′ x 9′ view (inspired by a photograph) from across the Alabama River looking toward the revitalized downtown.  The RSA Tower itself was to be the focal point of the scene.  A Mobile artist by the name of Susan Downing (wife of sculptor Casey Downing) was chosen for the work, for which we paid $7,500.  Her muted browns and blacks probably complement the space more appropriately than the golf trail greens on the opposite wall.  Even so, I still hear people asking where the wall color of the room came from, but I never confess.  It was tough enough explaining the concept and origin of the burnt tin can color to the two artists.

-Charles Humphries (“Peril and Intrigue Within Architecture”)

This is one of many RSA Tower stories. The rest can be found here.