Robert Aaron Mihaly (born January 8, 1967) is an American stone

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, conceptual artist, and

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Early life

Mihaly was born in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

. Largely self-educated, he dropped out of

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

and moved to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

.Wall Street Journal, September 29, 1997. pg. A.1''The Durham News (N&O)'', A Castle Takes Shape in Rougemont, Elizabeth Shestak, Nov 3–4, 2007. pg. A.1

Career

At the age of 21, he was awarded $10,000 in a national college entrepreneur contest.''Wall Street Journal'', "North Carolina Freshman Wins Entrepreneur Contest," February 23, 1988, p. 1 His business plan to design and sell artistic architectural ornaments was selected from 600 other proposals. In 1996–97, Mihaly was the Artist in Residence at

Washington National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Episcopal Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral or National Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Wa ...

, during which Mihaly attempted to transform a Vermont marble block into an

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

. The cathedral came to see the stone and scaffolding as an eyesore and safety hazard, and removed the structure, leaving Mihaly unable to work. Mihaly unsuccessfully sued the cathedral in small-claims court for breach of contract. In 2002,

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

commissioned Mihaly for the first gargoyles at Duke since the construction of the Gothic-styled West Campus, to honor Aubrey and Kathleen McClendon, a couple who gave $5.5 million for a new dorm."Athens Banner-Herald", Duke to take down gargoyles modeled after wealthy donors, by Aaron Beard, November 9, 2002. The Gothic west campus has more than 100 gargoyles perched upon buildings, but Mihaly's two new sculptures did not entertain the wealthy donors they were intended to honor, and were subsequently removed from the building.

Sculpture

Mihaly's sculptural work includes angels, gargoyles,''Chapel Hill News'', "Targoyles", by Dave Hart, September 7, 2003. pg. C.1 an elaborate gothic mausoleum, and four tractor-trailer loads of stonework that he carved for a miniature Renaissance villa. Mihaly's collection of gargoyles from popular

town and gown Town and gown are two distinct communities of a college town, university town; 'town' being the non-academic population and 'gown' Metonymy, metonymically being the university community, especially in ancient seats of learning such as Universit ...

characters of the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

are on top of the restaurant, Top of the Hill, overlooking the central crossroads of

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

and Columbia Streets. Each gargoyle has UNC rams horns. The characters include athletes

Mia Hamm Mariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm (born March 17, 1972) is an American former professional Association football, soccer player, two-time Women's Football at the Summer Olympics, Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Haile ...

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

, and

Julius Peppers Julius Frazier Peppers (born January 18, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end and linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels, where he ...

as well as the street's namesake,

Ben Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the most influential intellectuals of h ...

.''Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership'', "Holiday Window Display Winner", by Liz Parham , December 8, 2006.http://www.downtownchapelhill.com/pdfs/Window_Display_Winner_2006.pdf Client

Elizabeth Edwards Mary Elizabeth Anania Edwards (July 3, 1949 – December 7, 2010) was an American attorney, author, and health care activist. She was married to John Edwards, the former U.S. Senator from North Carolina who was the Democratic vice-presidential ...

and her husband, Senator

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented North Carolina in the United States Senate from 1999 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the vice presidential nominee under ...

, commissioned Mihaly to carve the headstone of their deceased son, Wade, out of a 24,000 pound block of Vermont marble. Edwards was "enchanted and confused" by the "weird and wonderful" artist, yet felt the sculpture of an angel caressing her child was "extraordinary". The tall monument is in Raleigh's

Historic Oakwood Cemetery Historic Oakwood Cemetery was founded in 1869 in Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital of North Carolina, near the North Carolina State Capitol in the city's Historic Oakwood neighborhood. Historic Oakwood Cemetery contains two special ar ...

.The Charlotte Observer, "Soaring Success, Crushing Loss" Anna Griffin, August 19, 2003 Mihaly also designed the monument in Historic Oakwood Cemetery for Edwards after her death in 2010 from breast cancer.

Conceptual art

During the March 7, 2009 opening of Mihaly's

solo exhibit at the Louise Jones Brown Gallery, ''A Pantheon of Modern Gods: An Anthropological Expedition into Corridors of Power,'' Mihaly paced the gallery, lecturing with a small sculpture entitled ''Cherub'' cradled in his arms, in front of visitors. All the works in the exhibition were accompanied by quotations.Claire Finch
"Mihaly offers send-up of modern idolatry in sculpture, paintings"
''The Duke Chronicle'', Paintings, March 26, 2009 The Gallery manager Rachel Pea described the art as "edgy" and "one of the more in-your-face sort of exhibits" since it challenges the viewer's ideas on the fabric of society: war, politics, money and religion.
/ref> Mihaly's work "conveys illuminating social commentary" about "frightening political possibilities". ''The Goddess of Eugenics'' is an oil on linen replication of Botticelli's ''

The Birth of Venus ''The Birth of Venus'' ( ) is a painting by the Italian artist Sandro Botticelli, probably executed in the mid-1480s. It depicts the goddess Venus (mythology), Venus arriving at the shore after her birth, when she had emerged from the sea ful ...

'', except Venus's body is pierced with bullet holes and dripping authentic blood. The Zephyrs blow symbols of

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'' consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infr ...

and

biohazard A biological hazard, or biohazard, is a biological substance that poses a threat (or is a hazard) to the health of living organisms, primarily humans. This could include a sample of a microorganism, virus or toxin that can adversely affect huma ...

waste rather than the

west wind A west wind is a wind that originates in the west and blows in an eastward direction. Mythology and literature In European tradition, it has usually been considered the mildest and most favorable of the directional winds. In ancient Greek ...

. Mihaly's description of the painting alludes to intricate plots by world leaders to cleanse the population.

Architecture

Mihaly's former part-time country estate and studio is called

Castle Mont Rouge Castle Mont Rouge is a castle located on Red Mountain in Rougemont, North Carolina, north of Durham.''The News and Observer'', "A castle? A Work of Art? Mont Rouge is a labor of love", Adrianne Cleven, 3 Nov 2019, 1D''The Herald Sun'', “Cast ...

.Rougemont Reporter, Castle Mont Rouge, Summer, 2006, P.10 The castle, located on Red Mountain in

Rougemont, North Carolina Rougemont is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Durham and Person counties, North Carolina, United States. The population of the CDP was 978 at the 2010 census. An act to incorporate Rougemont as a town was introduce ...

, features onion domes like

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

churches and oxidized copper cupolas.This Month at Duke, A Secret Spot, by Sally Hicks, August 2007, cover story Much rumor and lore has been built around the castle and its creator, Robert Mihaly.''The News and Observer'', "A castle? A Work of Art? Mont Rouge is a labor of love", Adrianne Cleven, 3 Nov 2019, 1D''The Herald Sun'', “Castle Mont Rouge in Rougemont is art oddity, labor of love”, Adrianne Cleven, 3 Nov 2019, 1A.''The Roxboro Courier-Times'', "Castle Mont Rouge offers Magic for Many", Cameron Beach, 31 Dec 2019, IA Mihaly referenced the rumor about the death of his wife in a televised news story, acknowledging that he is not a widower.

References

External links

Official Robert Mihaly Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mihaly, Robert Living people 1967 births Artists from Akron, Ohio 20th-century American architects 20th-century American painters Kent State University people Sculptors from Ohio 21st-century American painters 20th-century American sculptors