Grigory Gurevich, bronze bust of American-Japanese famous inventor KAZUO HASHIMOTO on granite pedestal permanently installed near the Library of New Jersey Institute of Technology in City of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Kazuo Hashimoto was graduated from NJIT and became an inventor, created his own Company «INTEL”, in California and had close to 1000 patented inventions in the US and Japan (a little more than Edison), in a field of communication, telephone and computer technology. Most popular of his inventions were few, all people in the world know very well: "ANSWERING MACHINE" and "CALLER ID". As an appreciation for his achievement he made a donation to NJIT of one mullion dollars to build HALL OF FAME.
When he became ill and was already in Tokio, Japan in the Hospital, dying from the cancer, NJIT, in cooperation with his wife, commissioned me to create his bust from very small family photos, which were representing him from his student time in college, to a days he was in the hospital. Some photos were so small, it was difficult to see his face, but somehow I was able to sculpt 3D portrait of him, even I had newer met him. Thanks to his close partner Daniel Henderson, who flew from California to help me acheaving likeness, I was able to finish sculpture in a few hours, because Daniel knew his features and I was able to get likeness of his face.
My sculpture is created in classical style, and I tried to symbolize his presence in that way, to underline his greatness and not to represent him as an ordinary person. His portrait is sculpted about one and a half bigger, than the life size, so people will see, that I did not make a cast of his real head.
This bronze bust was casted in Brooklyn Foundry “EXCALIBRE”.
I sculpted original in clay, made plaster negative, than perfected it and made rubber negative and plaster supporting another negative, than I made a pinky thickness wax positive and brought it to a Foundry, where spruces were created by technicians and ceramic negative and inner ceramic filler was done. After that, melted bronze was poured through spruses inside of ceramic forms. After bronze was cooled down, workers cut all bronze channels and I took bronze bust home for chasing (filing, sanding and polishing). It took for me about a week, because I did not have enough proper equipement. After I finished chacing, I brushed bronze patina to achieve good protective color. Than, I used special wax to secure patina.
Joe, from Rahway Marble Company, made a pedestal, using my design, 3/4 thickness green and black marble plates and I ordered engraving of Kazuo Hashimoto’s bio on polished brass plates. They were executed in Newark in engraving company and Joe glued it to a pedestal with silicon glue.
Than all monument was delivered to a NJIT Library and installed there permanently in 1995!
Text and photo by Grigory Gurevich.
Copyright, February 10, 2023, New York, USA.