Project Description and Context
A work of public art is planned as a tribute to the Sicilian fishermen who formed the backbone of Boston’s fishing industry during the late 19th C through the mid-20th C. The working title is the Sicilian Fisherman’s Tribute and is to be located on the north side of Long Wharf near the remnants of T Wharf, which along with Eastern Packard Pier and Commercial Wharf in Boston’s North End formed the commercial center of activity for the neighborhood.
Background
From the late 19th C through the mid 20th C immigrants from Italy, mainly from Sicily, settled in the North End bringing with them their cultural traditions and language. The main motivation was the expansion of the fishing industry in New England, founded in the early 17th C, and the economic opportunity it presented. Looked upon originally as poor and illiterate, the dealers at the wharfs soon noted these hardworking men were a critical component in the development of one of the largest fishing ports in the world. The industry flourished through the early 1960’s. At that time, signs of overfishing began to appear and the federal government began regulating the catch. By the 1970’s Canada extended its territorial claim to 200 miles and competition from the Canadian fishing fleet effectively closed a number of areas to the Americans. Combined with competition from large international factory ships, the glory days of the North End fisherman came to an end. The cultural traditions brought with them from Sicily were an integral component of life in the North End.
Please see below for conceptual designs by the four final artists. These are a sample of the artists' proposed work and short descriptions of their concepts.
Public comments are welcome and can be emailed to [email protected].
Peter Diepenbrock
Fish or Man, A Tribute to the Sicilian Fishermen of Boston
9’h x14’w x 4’d
Silicon Bronze over a stainless steel frame, polished 316 Stainless bar
This concept finds its allegorical inspiration in a whimsical, blended interpretation of Jonah and The Whale, The Old Man and the Sea, and the Anello Piscatorio or Ring of the Fisherman, warn by the Pope.
In this sculptural version, the fisherman may have met his match, though tough minded and determined to triumph, the fish, much larger than the man, smiles good naturedly, confident that this time, at least, he need not worry.
Given the intensive family oriented tourist use of the area I have created this concept with children as the essential designated audience. Families will be waiting in line for the site seeing boats, with active children wanting to play and mess about. The sculpture’s profile is relatively low, to reduce site line interference, yet sculpturally robust enough to have a dynamic eye level presence on the wharf. The sculpture will be located on the designated site, placed diagonally across the central pier decking.
The sculpture will have a stainless steel internal armature, which is then clad in a layering of silicon bronze ‘shingles’, all collectively welded together, to form a highly tactile, yet smooth to the touch surface. The net will be fabricated in ½” solid polished 316 stainless bar.
The surface of the bronze will be patinated green, with the expectation that with ongoing human contact bright natural bronze will result in areas where people touch it the most. The fisherman’s nose a perfect example.
The face and hands of the fisherman will be in deliberate contrast to the general whimsy of the piece. The expression will be severe, serious, rough hewn, strong, and determined. The hands and face will be oversized, and powerful. In this way I want to express the incredible fortitude that these fisherman had in facing the often frigid and highly dangerous exposure to the elements. My hope is that both a fun and whimsical overtone will be supported with a profound sense of the harsh reality that these men actually faced.
In order to establish a much more personal and cultural link to/for the Sicilians, I am proposing that 30-40 Sicilian family name plates can be attached to the cladding plates that form the fisherman’s boat.
These bronze nameplates will be hand stamped in ½” tall letters, and then welded into position.
The small vessel may also have a ‘name’ or motto, that may have an over riding significance to the project as a Sicilian tribute. These real world family names, coupled with the intense expression rendered in the fisherman’s hands and face, will provide a very powerful basis underlying the suggested magical realism of the overall design.
Pablo Eduardo
After studying many images of Fisherman's memorials from around the world and living near the one here in Gloucester, it became clear that it would be hard to create a competing icon of a fisherman. Instead the design invokes a poetic allegorical sculpture of the symbiotic and intimate relationship that a fisherman has with the sea.
The allegory is wind swept and wears a head dress that symbolizes the ships that the fisherman took to sea. Her robes are of oiled cloth and she has her arms stretched out holding two buoy bells. The bells will sound the mournful moving and eternal swells that fisherman know so well. The sounds calling them home.
The sculpture will sit twenty feet or so atop of a mast anchored to the deck by bronze stays. It will be seen and heard from a distance, inviting the viewer to come closer and partake in the memorial.
At the foot of the mast some cast barrels inscribed with a beautiful poem that best suits the relationship between the fisherman and the sea, and the fisherman's contribution to the city of Boston.
Morgan Faulds Pike
The Sicilian Fishermen’s Memorial
A Bronze Figure of Heroic Scale with a Link to Leslie Jones’s Historic Photographs from the Boston Public Library Collection
The photos show the 12-inch clay maquette for a free-standing 8-foot bronze figure of a Sicilian fisherman. The proud and dignified pose of the figure is contrasted by the large flounder he holds to his chest and by his apron, work shirt, and work boots. He is a friendly sentinel drawing visitors to the site. The base of the sculpture is decorated with low reliefs of codfish and stone crabs and will contain a dedication to the fishermen. A QR code that links to the Boston Public Library’s archive of 652 historic photographs of the fishing industry by photojournalist Leslie Jones (1886-1967) is part of the piece. Jones’s photographs show a lively and detailed chronicle of the industry in its heyday during the first half of the 20th century. Design development for the sculpture will continue in a 3- foot scale model. Morgan Faulds Pike is a classically trained sculptor who works in bronze, wood, and stone in many architectural contexts. She is best known for her Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Memorial on the boulevard waterfront in Gloucester, MA.
William Reimann, Sandro Carella, Elizabeth Ghiseline
Our proposal for this "Tribute" reflects the vitality of the lives, arduousness of work, and continued cultural presence of emigrated Sicilian fishermen and their families in the City of Boston. It has dual goals, the first of which is to highlight the significance of the water’s edge in a century-old, well-attended annual community event, the August processional celebration of The Blessing of the Fleet, which begins with a parade through the North End streets and Christopher Columbus Park and culminates in the tossing of the flowers into the sea by young descendants of the fishermen. This ritual, whose venue and destination our proposal enhances, is orchestrated by its founders, the Society of The Madonna del Soccorso di Sciacca (Our Lady of Help of Sciacca), and is celebrated by significant numbers of North Enders as well as attended by countless others. The second goal is to realize a unique visitor attraction that speaks to the history of the Sicilian Fishermen, standing as a beacon, suggesting to visitors something of the courage, fortitude and persistence of their enterprise, while evoking their memory and cultural contribution to Boston. It catches the eye from a distance and gradually reveals itself, exciting the interest of visitors from all over the world, with several masts speaking to the sailor’s hope of a safe mooring, and shimmering nets - visible both day and night - serving as representative veils from this deserving, important (and to many whom we have interviewed, as the steel netting suggests, unforgettable and eternal) past.
