Might not happen till NEXT spring -
http://www.orilliapacket.com/2015/08...enetanguishene
I think the average person regards sculpture in terms of our Champlain Monument.
People seem to regard a realistic-looking figure doing something — in this case in stride, but it could be on a horse, wielding a sword, etc., or a bust that reasonably resembles the subject, like the ones of Stephen Leacock, Charles Hale and Leslie Frost — as sculpture.
Blobs, cubes, geometric shapes and other things that can’t be easily be described (there are many examples of that kind of thing in Toronto) or metal frames representing fruit in the garden at Market Square — that’s the kind of stuff many might call art, but maybe not sculpture.
Now we have the case of the Gordon Lightfoot statue that will be placed in Tudhope Park on Barnfield Point. Many people have asked me about it: What does it look like? Or — if they’ve seen the picture of its early state that was published in the Packet & Times a few months ago — do you think that looks like Gord? So, let’s make a comparison to something people can see that should ease minds about what the Lightfoot statue will be like.
Last Saturday, the Town of Penetanguishene unveiled a new statue of Champlain. Thousands were on hand, including all the dignitaries who could be there — even from Quebec and France. It depicts the first meeting of Samuel de Champlain with the chief of the Huron-Wendat natives.
Side note: Lots was said of Champlain’s first arriving in the area at Penetanguishene, a notion I think Don Ross would take issue with since Orillia is very much upstream from Penetanguishene on the Severn River system.
Why that sculpture? The creator of both monuments is Tim Schmalz.
The intricate detail of Penetanguishene’s Champlain monument and the sheer size is hard to comprehend without being in front of it (which you can do — the drive is only about 40 minutes).
I have seen the Lightfoot clay model, and I saw the one-third-scale clay model of the Champlain monument at the same time; the level of detail in each is the same and it’s exceptional.
The Lightfoot statue is also big in size and, on its pedestal, will be about 14 feet tall and about 12 feet wide.
Schmalz told me Saturday the mould is done and he was going back to China, where his foundry is, this week and will start casting it before the week is done. He said it will take a month to do the casting and a month to ship it here, which means by about the end of September, it should be in town or very close. He estimates it will take a month to properly install it and, if everything goes according to plan, the unveiling will happen in early November. But, he cautioned, a lot can happen to hold things up. If there is a problem with the casting or transportation, Schmalz thinks it might be best to wait until spring to unveil it.
I’m excited about this thing and I hope it goes according to plan. As far as I know, I am one of two people in town who have seen any part of it and the anticipation of all of you being as flabbergasted by it as I am is not unlike being five years old and waiting for the candy store to open its doors. I think we’ll all be proud of it.