2G, “SCULPTURE OF LITTLE RUNNING GIRL” (Rachael Gallo, a daughter of Colleen Gallo, my student at the time when I and 11 of my sculpture students were executing 7 sculptures for Newark Penn Station in City of Newark).
On a photo you see a last bronze sculpture already placed on the station, but a story of this sculpture is not so simple as it looks.
Original sculpture is a Rachael standing and holding rails. As all sculptures, it was done in plaster, but my creative nature was not satisfied with the fact, that all members of a group “COMMUTERS” are in a still position and I wants to add some dynamic to that, so WE. Casted Rachael again running towards her mother.. I was so excited, that when our School of Fine Arts had Summer brake, I spend part of break time coming to a sculpture studio working of her figure by myself. I add a lot of hair to her head and had a pleasure carving it, making it romantic and beautiful as if her hair is blown by a movement. I decided that this figure must substitute the static one. When all eight figures were ready, they were loaded on a truck without packing in to boxes and delivered to a Penn Station, except “Running Rachael” with beautiful hair. Head became so heavy, that during the transportation her supporting keg bricks in the knee and was immediately delivered back to my sculpture studio and substituted by a fist if her sculpture.
Fate made it’s own decision and it was a better one, because when “running figure” was standing on a floor, her hair completely blocked her little figure and it was impossible to see her anyway.
The rest of a summer I was repairing her leg and other broken parts. I separated beautiful head with full hair by making another head with less hair and attached it to her “running” body.
When students returned in October, NSFIA was closed and Board of Education relocated all institution from Martin Luther King Boulevard, where îNSFIA was originally established hundred years ago, to Irvington to a small building, where it was almost impossible to reach by public transportation. Practically, board of Education wanted to close gradually NSFIA to free space to Arts High Public school. My “RUNNING RACHAEL” was placed in a box and
when NSFIA was shot down forever, I had no place where to save and store that and, if no one took it, I guess it was Brocken a part and went to a garbage. I saved an originally carved head and this what you see here on my photos.
Copyright Grigory Gurevich, September 18, 2021, Jersey City, NJ, USA