The University is well-known for its researchers, academics, Nobel Prize winners, poet laureates and — movie stars?
That’s right. Seven WUSTL faculty and staff members will be featured in the new documentary film The Gateway Arch: A Reflection of America.
Narrated by St. Louis-born Academy Award winner Kevin Kline, the film will play for one night only — 7:30 p.m. Aug. 19 at the Fox Theatre.
Produced by Civil Pictures, the filmmakers who created an award-winning documentary on the 1904 World’s Fair, The Gateway Arch is the first major film about the Arch in nearly 40 years.
It tells the complete story of the Arch — from Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark and the pioneers, to the monument’s design, completion and symbolism.
The story is told through interviews with historians, architects and construction workers and includes rare images compiled from archives across the country.
“I have become a real fan of Civil Pictures and their mission of preserving history through film,” said Steve Givens, assistant vice chancellor and assistant to the chancellor. Givens is featured in the film and also co-composed and performed two pieces of music. “So it was an honor and a real pleasure to be part of this important project. I hope it has a long life and will serve as a great reminder of the importance of St. Louis to the rest of the country and of the Gateway Arch to the history of St. Louis. This is a story that deserved to be told well.”
Other WUSTL faculty members interviewed in the film are Paul J. Donnelly, FAIA, PE, the Rebecca and John Voyles Chair of Architecture in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts; Wayne Fields, Ph.D., the Lynne Cooper Harvey Distinguished Professor of English and director of American Culture Studies;
William H. Gass, Ph.D., the David May Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in the Humanities in Arts & Sciences; Peter Kastor, Ph.D., assistant professor of history and of American Culture Studies, both in Arts & Sciences;
Robert J. Moore, adjunct professor in University College; and Eric Mumford, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the Urban Design Program in the School of Architecture.
“What I tried to stress was the value of beauty and ambition in the production and placement of public art, whether it is pure object or a bridge or a highway design or a park bench,” Gass said. “Quality is costly in the short term and of infinite value in the long.”
General admission tickets are $9 and are available at the Fox box office or online at metrotix.com. For more information, go online to civilpictures.com.