A couple months ago I submitted a proposal for the Stone Sculpture Legacy Program in Barre City, made possible by the Semprebon Fund and Studio Place Arts. My proposal was accepted based on concept, and the scale model shown here. The final piece will be carved in Barre grey granite, out of an 8 x 3 x 4ft block, and in more detail than the model. Below is the concept proposal, which asked for, “the creation of a granite sculpture that helps to tell the rich, multi-cultural story of the people who settled in Barre to work the quarries, to start small businesses, and to create their ideal new home”.
Culmination
For the Stone Sculpture Legacy Program, I propose a sculpture titled “Culmination” which will consist of a cluster of geometric forms that will suggest the silhouette of a small city emerging from a mountainous base. Negative spaces around and below the cluster will refer to the “quarries” from which these forms were built. The sculpture will be slightly larger than average human height and there will be “windows” in the forms around eye-level.
The concept for “Culmination” is an abstract representation of a small developing city. The buildings will all have different shapes that recall different architectural styles from around the world to allude to the cultural diversity of Barre. The way in which those forms emerge from the boulder but remain connected to it will evoke the idea of a town which consists of many different parts but remains unified. In this way, “Culmination” will reflect the spirit of the quote by Aristotle that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” “Culmination” will be both an abstract sculpture with rough natural forms and refined geometric shapes as well as an architectural model that combines highly detailed sections which depict the facades of buildings and draw the viewer in.
Sean Hunter Williams 