32 foot stainless virgin

[evaldart]

I recently passed by this piece in front of a church in Delaware - found it to be a Charles Parks. If I were rich it would be in MY yard. It really is an awesome piece of figuration(cast as well as fabricated/forged). Its good enough that I'll even excuse the old-dude responsible for not hammering on it himself.

Its a down-right shocking thing to see...and really raw upon close inspection.

Anyone know more about this thing?

[GlennT]

I found out about that sculpture around the time I sculpted my Saint Paul statue for the Cathedral of Saint Paul in 2000. I remember being impressed with how the toughness of steel was manipulated into such a graceful rendering. I think any info I might have saved did not survive the great computer crash of 2002. The rawness up close is like the impressionist paintings that look so complete and alive from a distance, and up close look like a bunch of crazy blobs of color.

[fritchie]

I seem to remember hearing about that piece about the time of its commissioning, or maybe beginning of construction. I lived in Delaware about 1963 - '66 or thereabouts for a couple of years, and noticed later references to the state.

It's an excellent work, I agree, but I know nothing more about it. I especially love the contemporary feel of the face, and respect the drapery, etc., as well as I can see it in this photo.