Collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access will require additional advanced notice. Unless noted, digital media are not available online. Copies of unrestricted digital files will be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request. Access will be provided to use copies of unrestricted digital files rather than carrier media, such as CDs, DVDs, and floppy disks. Some or all electronic files may be unavailable or restricted due to privacy reasons, agreement with the donor, software is not available to interact with files, or because files cannot be retrieved from original media.
The Roy Gussow Models for Teaching Design include 20 abstract models used to teach Design students. Collection also includes 11 studies for his public sculpture work Crystal.
Roy Gussow (1918-2011) was an American abstract sculptor and educator who is most known for his polished stainless steel works.
Roy Gussow (1918-2011) was an American abstract sculptor and educator who is most known for his polished stainless steel works. He attended Farmingdale State College, originally intending to become a farmer and graduated with a degree in Ornamental Horticulture. After serving in World War II, he attended the Institute of Design in Chicago on the G.I. Bill and received a Bachelors of Science in Industrial Design. He taught at Bradley University and the Fine Arts Center of Colorado College before coming to North Carolina. Gussow was a faculty member at the School (later College) of Design of North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering (later North Carolina State University) from 1951 to 1962 (tenured 1960). He went on to teach at the School of Architecture at the Pratt Institute, Columbia University, and the Graduate School of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania. Museums throughout the country hosted exhibitions of his work and many own his sculptures including MOMA, the Whitney, the Guggenheim and the Brooklyn Museum. Other scupltures can be found at locations such as the NCSU College of Design in Raleigh, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington D.C., the Tulsa, OK and Harrisburg, PA City Halls, and the Xerox Corporation in Rochester, NY and Tokyo, Japan.
The Roy Gussow Models for Teaching Design include 20 abstract models made from painted metal, painted cardboard, brass, wood, and plexiglass. Gussow created the models in the 1960s for instruction purposes. He used them to teach the vocabulary of the components of 3-dimensions and prompt students to think about form. They demonstrate how an extended point becomes a line, an extended line becomes a plane, and an extended plane becomes a form. These models also were used to illustrate the variety of fluid and dynamic forms that can be constructed using a stable or static right angle.
Collection also includes eleven models that were studies for the public sculpture Crystal, which stands outside City Hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Crystal is 17 feet high and made of reflective stainless steel.
This collection is arranged in alphabetical order.
The NC State University Libraries generally claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Libraries staff are unable to advise on copyright and other legal matters; the user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Helpful resources for assessing copyright include Cornell Libraries' "Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain" and copyright.gov. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information about identifiable living individuals, which may be protected under federal or state laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that there may be legal ramifications for disclosing this information.
The University Archives operates in accordance with the State Public Records Act, with unrestricted access to records not covered by state and federal statutes and regulations.
[Identification of item], Roy Gussow Models for Teaching Design, MC 00730, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
Gift of Jill Gussow, 2023 March (Accession 2023.0061), 2025 August (Accession 2025.0111).
Processed by Hailey Mandel, 2023 May; Finding aid written by: Hailey Mandel.
4 models, brass
1 model, painted metal
4 models, painted cardboard
2 models, painted metal
2 models, metal rods
These models were studies for the public sculpture work Crystal, which is outside City Hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Contains 4 models.
These models were studies for the public sculpture work Crystal, which is outside City Hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Contains 2 models.
These models were studies for the public sculpture work Crystal, which is outside City Hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Contains 1 model.
These models were studies for the public sculpture work Crystal, which is outside City Hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Contains 4 models and a base.
3 models, carved wood
1 model, plexiglass
3 models, painted cardboard
Collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access will require additional advanced notice. Unless noted, digital media are not available online. Copies of unrestricted digital files will be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request. Access will be provided to use copies of unrestricted digital files rather than carrier media, such as CDs, DVDs, and floppy disks. Some or all electronic files may be unavailable or restricted due to privacy reasons, agreement with the donor, software is not available to interact with files, or because files cannot be retrieved from original media.
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[Identification of item], Roy Gussow Models for Teaching Design, MC 00730, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
The NC State University Libraries generally claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Libraries staff are unable to advise on copyright and other legal matters; the user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Helpful resources for assessing copyright include Cornell Libraries' "Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain" and copyright.gov. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information about identifiable living individuals, which may be protected under federal or state laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that there may be legal ramifications for disclosing this information.
The University Archives operates in accordance with the State Public Records Act, with unrestricted access to records not covered by state and federal statutes and regulations.