How El Faro Salute! came to be

Two simple factors determined the concept of El Faro Salute!:

1. There are few examples that better symbolize respect than a full salute.

2. The technical process to be used in creating El Faro Salute! had recently been demonstrated for a private commission with impressive results.

In 2014 I was contacted by existing clients after they purchased a seasonal home in Stockbridge, MA. They expressed interest in having me create an original sculpture that would celebrate music and its influence on the region. In our talks there was lively mention of their visits to Tanglewood and performances by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It was their love for this cultural experience that motivated them to purchase the home.

The location where it would be displayed determined the size of the sculpture. I would be charged with arriving at a dynamic concept, and it should be bold. Researching the cultural hotspot repeatedly landed at visuals of actual orchestra conductors at work and a variety of abstract versions of this image as logos.

A short time before this request landed, I was involved with the demolition of the American Can Company in Portland, Maine. A local production company had noticed my passion for acquiring industrial demolition debris and working it into raw art. I was encouraged to visit the site and be filmed while scouring for inspiring materials. The company was pursuing the prospect of a Maine reality show demonstrating examples of how these industrial materials were salvaged and repurposed. This footage would be edited for a pilot.

Amongst the acreage of detritus was a small amount of 1/8th inch thick steel plate that had previously covered a wooden floor for fork trucks to drive on at the loading dock area. Dents, tears and wrinkles were fashioned as heavy equipment ripped the steel from the wooden deck. The resulting compound curves and other unique contours spoke to me loudly as elements for a strong work of art.

During considerations for the commission proposal I was canvasing my property for inspiration in any materials and the steel plate came into view. The perfect imperfections in the steel suddenly identified themselves to me. They were sections of a jacket! Some were wrinkles in a sleeve, others were the fold in a collar or the roll down over a shoulder blade. This collection of steel inspired me to go out on a limb and propose The Maestro!, a conductors jacket of steel as seen from the back. It would take lots of heating and hammering and good fortune, but the magic that was hidden in this material convinced me it could be performed.

It turns out that many of the characteristics in the salvaged steel served only to inspire. Almost all of the features in the jacket were created with heat and force. Quite possibly, The Maestro! could have been created from a new sheet of steel, however, that sheet of steel would never have inspired such a process.

These images show some of the detail comprised in The Maestro!. You’ll see the seams and the wrinkles formed at the elbow and shoulders. Notice the dynamic thrust of the jacket bottom as the conductor’s arm is projected forward and the detail of the hands.

El Faro Salute!

El Faro Salute! will consist of a granite base supporting two maritime officer jackets and caps created with this same technical process and material as The Maestro!. Both sculptures will be formed in the full salute position, symbolizing the respect offered by the maritime community toward the entire crew of the El Faro. Welds at the extended fingertips of the saluting hands will support the caps. Space under the caps is purposely left void of any representation toward a particular person, leaving interpretation to the individual viewer.

The precise design of the granite base is being finalized to set the stage for supporting the metal sculptures. A distinguished plaque will include the names of each crew member.