UPDATE:
http://www.orilliapacket.com/2015/03...t-taking-shape
Lightfoot monument taking shape
By John Swartz
Monday, March 9, 2015 4:40:47 EDT PM
The sculptor, Timothy Schmalz, making the soon-to-be-installed monument of Gordon Lightfoot, has a definite opinion about the effect of his magnificent work of art.
"The great thing about bronze is you can’t turn the volume down, and this sculpture has Lightfoot blaring," said Schmalz.
Having been to the sculptor’s studio and examined the piece in its clay form — a form still being fine-tuned — that is a close description of the way I felt when viewing it live and in living technicolour. It is powerful.
This new addition to the public art showcase in Orillia is on par with the Champlain monument. It certainly has the potential to be a magnet, bringing people to Orillia just to see it. The overall effect is overwhelming in its beauty. That current size is limited to the height of the ceiling in Schmalz’s St. Jacobs studio; he still has to create a base that will lift the whole thing so Lightfoot’s face will be eye level to the viewer.
Then there’s realizing the level of detail Schmalz has given it. Each of the songs on the album Gord's Gold has a leaf with a scene representative of the song. All of the leaves combine to form one gigantic maple leaf with Lightfoot in the centre.
"The idea was of a tapestry or a quilt. The pieces put together make up the Canadian identity. If you take all the Gordon Lightfoot songs and put them together, you will really get a picture of what it’s like to be a Canadian, or the Canadian experience. I visually just did exactly what I said — I took all his songs, from one album, put them all together in the form of the universal symbol of Canada," said Schmalz.
When one focuses on the leaf depicting Rainy Day People, one will immediately get it; same goes for Beautiful and all the others. Regardless of your life perspective, you will have your own impression and it will be the right one.
"I have faith that an expression of a song can be translated into a sculpture and that some sort of the essence can be captured," said Schmalz.
The sculpture is destined to be installed on the northernmost tip of Barnfield Point in Tudhope Park on the Lightfoot Trail.
John Bryant, the city’s manager of park planning and development, is charged with creating the setting for it.
"The landscape components are yet to be established. I’m going to be collaborating with the artist on the sculpture placement and the associated landscaping. My initial thought is the sculpture and the natural beauty of the lake in the background — that’s going to be the focal point, so the landscape should not be distracting, but complementary. So, I think a little less is better," said Bryant.
A viewer will be able to see through the centre of the sculpture. Both Schmalz and Bryant want the water to be visible through that. Bryant also thinks planting some sugar maples strategically will extend the image of the giant maple leaf. There will also be stones brought in and placed so people will have somewhere to sit and contemplate. It’s likely one will be facing north to view it.
"I’ll work out the exact placement with Tim. He’ll be the one making the call — his best visual alignment — but north south sounds good to me," said Bryant.
The unveiling date has shifted. The Sunday of the Mariposa Folk Festival was the original target, but Schmalz is thinking it will be in August or early September.
"I want to continue to do as much detail as I possibly can. I want to make sure before it’s cast that it’s perfect as far as I’m concerned. The second point is, unfortunately, the Mariposa Folk Festival is a closed, ticketed event and the patron (the cost to date is $500,000) brought it up to my attention; the unveiling has to be at a time where all are welcome to see it at the dedication," said Schmalz.
It’s a bit of a disappointment for festival organizing chair Pam Carter. The group had been planning a party to celebrate the unveiling, but she understands the logic.
"Realistically, the art project is being donated to the city, not Mariposa. They had asked us if we would do the unveiling during the festival and we were happy to do that, but if the plans have changed, we would probably look at the following year," she said.
Schmalz is aiming to have a rubber casting completed next week. He’ll take that to his other studio, in Xiamen, China. It’s a converted airplane hanger, with more room to work in, where he’ll complete the reverse side of the sculpture and have it cast in a foundry, which happens to be next door to his studio. Then he’ll ship it to Orillia and it will be positioned in its permanent home.
John Swartz is a columnist for The Packet & Times.