Art in Public Places honors the late Tillie Fowler

[thelakelander]

Providence, R. I.-based sculptor Brower Hatcher has been commissioned by the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville through its administration of the Art in Public Places program to create a tribute to Fowler that will next year be installed near Riverside Avenue.

“It will be placed on the Northbank Riverwalk between the Haskell Building and St. Joe,” said Art in Public Places Program Manager Allison Graff. “It’s where Riverside, Downtown and Brooklyn come together.”

Graff added the project is unique in that it is funded through a public-private partnership. The $135,000 Fowler Memorial (its working title) is being paid for by Preston Haskell and Holland & Knight along with a $10,000 appropriation from the City Public Works Department Art in Public Places account. The artists will receive $120,000 with the remaining budget going to administrative expenses for the Art in Public Places program and long-term maintenance for the installation.

Graff said the completed sculpture will be 16 feet tall and 16 feet wide. It will depict three egg-shaped matrixes, one within another mounted on an aluminum base.

“I think the three shapes symbolize the three things that were most important in Tillie Fowler’s life: family, community and nation,” added Graff.

The sculpture will take eight months to construct and will be assembled on site early in 2009.

full article: http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=50129

[Driven1]

this is really cool.  thank you for posting.  i am assuming it will be a permanent structure.  it would be cool to have pictures of the artist as he sculpts the piece.

[Steve]

This is cool - Even though I'm not completely into the location, we need more sculpture parks, and less of the crap on Main St.

[Driven1]

yeah - i'm not TOO crazy about $120,000 (i thought artists were supposed to be "starving") but hey - how much did we blow on the stupid pocket park on main st?  wasn't that like $750k?

[Charles Hunter]

The $120,000 the artists receive - do they have to buy the materials out of that, or is that their 'fee' (for lack of a better word), and materials are paid for separately?  Just curious about how payment for art works.

[Driven1]

Charles,

There is no set way whereby artists are paid when commissioned, but this is the way it is in most cases.

In this circumstance it appears that the artist(s) will be paid (salaried) $120,000.  It looks like there are $5,000 in materials that will be paid for by the public/private partnership that is funding it.

While there is no "set-in-stone" way for them to be paid, most of the time it works out like this (where the $120k is their "fee").

[obie1]

Yeah, that 120,000 only sounds like a lot for an artist -and, the fact that it sounds like a lot for a single artist for a project that will likely take a full year to execute is a sad commentary in itself- but that money is going to go toward facilities, assistants, fabricators, consultants, and project management that all fall under the designer's responsibilities. here's an idea of some of the people who are likely to be involved in a project this big, info is from Hatcher's website:
http://www.midoceanstudio.com/the_studio/studio_profile.htm

[Charles Hunter]

I've got no problem with the $120K, was curious because I don't know how payment for art works.  If they had to pay for materials out of that, it would make their "salary" even smaller.   

Between Haskell and St. Joe - would that be near the YMCA?

[blizz01]

Did this ever get done?

[thelakelander]

Not yet.

[blizz01]

The Daily Record makes mention of this, but I couldn't land on a date - At first the location seemed like an afterthought, but now it would appear that it will be located within close proximity of the Riverside Arts Market..........

On a side note, this is a pretty good read:

http://jaxdailyrecord.com/images/0309Downtown.pdf

[BridgeTroll]

I walked by the site friday... I think they are just waiting for the sculpture.

[BridgeTroll]

http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-03-31/story/futuristic_sculpture_honoring_fowler_being_installed

Brower Hatcher describes his abstract stainless steel sculpture now being installed on the Northbank Riverwalk  as “very futuristic.”

Which might make it seem an unusual choice as a memorial to the late Tillie Fowler,  the long-time Jacksonville community leader who served eight years in Congress...

[BridgeTroll]

http://www.hklaw.com/id24660/PublicationId5/ReturnId37/contentid51757/

The inspiration for the oak tree image came from Rev. Barnum McCarty, rector emeritus of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, who shared a touching story during Fowler's funeral service in March 2005. He recalled (excerpted), "The other day I drove up into the front yard of a dear friend of mine who was as close to Tillie as anyone. As I got out of the car and stood up straight to stretch my aging back, I looked up at and into the large and magnificent oak tree under which I was standing. I began studying it, how its strong and sturdy limbs gracefully bent and reached out in all directions to its environment, adding beauty and significance to its place on the earth. It allowed for light to come through its canopy, yet it also provided the comfort of shade. I said to myself that tree is Tillie. She may have been known as a Steel Magnolia, but to me she was a mighty oak. She remarkably reached out in all directions, gracing everything she touched. She always made a difference."