In Chattanooga I went to work for John Henry in building Tatlin’s Sentinel. It was one of many monumental sculptures in steel and aluminum fabricated at his Chattanooga studio. And at 101 feet tall and 100,000 pounds, it is one of the largest contemporary sculptures in the world, and the second tallest in the United States.
I drilled the steel bases and ran a grinder on the 3,500 feet of welds between the beams and steel skins of the large, hollow planes and tubes. I also prepped, painted, and loaded it for shipping to be installed at the Laumier Sculpture Park in Saint Louis for the New Monuments exhibition. I was acting as Studio Manager, keeping everything humming along within the facility; fuels, machines, tools and parts. It took a year to pull it all together, with a crew of 10, some of whom converged on Chattanooga from other sculpture studios to help with the final push to make the installation date. “Tatlin” is now installed at its permanent home at the Hall Texas Sculpture Walk, 2323 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas.
That’s a Bluejay in the photo below atop the highest element…
During our tenure in Chattanooga we also envisioned a sculpture park in Montague Park, a former landfill. With John and Pamela and Katherine, I prepared the preliminary drawings envisioning landscaping and water features to help showcase the large works with sight lines and niches. The drawings featured works by some of the greatest names in contemporary public art: John Henry, Mark DiSuvero, Kenneth Snelson, Chuck Genever, among others. It also featured a whistle stop on the train line that ran between the studio on 16th street and the park where the Chattanooga Choo Choo coal and steam train runs.
John presented the drawings and a preliminary proposal to Mayor Bob Corker, now the US Senator from Tennessee.
It was well received. But like all new ideas, it took a long time to work its way through town politics. Today, thirteen years later, the first works are in place and open for viewing. The Sculpture Fields at Montague Park is a destination for education and culture, and a great addition to the growing cosmopolitan art scene that is Chattanooga today.
The roster of artists represented is an exemplary group of contemporary sculptors working in bronze, steel, aluminum, and stone. John and Pamela Henry have personally brought this international grouping together and spearheaded the design, construction, and financing of their vision. It is another in a long list of cultural enhancements that have followed them to their pioneering studio down on Main Street.
Chattanooga is one of the most beautiful cities in the South. Stop by if you are in the area. Your visit will be an awakening to the power of art to change communities.
Following is the address for the website of the works and installations in progress, featuring video of the dedication by Tony Jones.
http://sculpturefields.org
Below is a video showcasing John Henry’s historic installation “The Peninsula Project”, seven monumental sculptures installed simultaneously across the state of Florida, with attendant museum exhibitions in each city. It is an excellent insight into the scope and scale of John Henry’s vision and work.
John Henry is a retrospective of the artist’s work. Published 2010, Ruder Finn Press. ISBN 10: 1-932646-26-4
“With a career spanning 45 years and 5 continents, John Henry is one of America’s most influential sculptors. His roots firmly established in early 20th century Constructivist and Bauhaus traditions, Henry’s work transcends its foundations and speaks to issues of structure, scale, and the dialogue between the artist, the sculpture, individually and in series, and the contemporary landscape. This conversation is wrought from heat and metal whose hard edges define an instantly recognizable visual vocabulary that Henry has made his own.”
