Published: 3/30/2021 3:28:45 PM
TURNERS FALLS — The Spinner statue has been gone from its post in Spinner Park for a year, as delays in the park’s renovations pushed the expected reopening from the fall of 2020 to this summer. In the meantime, the restoration of the statue has revealed some surprising details.
The Spinner statue is understood to honor Montague’s industrial history, and especially the role of women in local factories, according to Suzanne LoManto, director of Montague’s arts and business organization, RiverCulture. As part of a renovation of the park that began last spring, the statue was taken away for its own restoration.
The restoration work is being done by Jack Nelson, a sculptor who lives in Turners Falls and previously taught at Northfield Mount Hermon School. When he started the job last spring, he said his goal for the Spinner statue was to bring it as close to its original state as he could.
That will include details that betray the statue’s industrial origin. The Spinner is cast iron that was made from a mold in a foundry, which becomes clear when looking at the seams where the pieces of the statue were fused together, Nelson said.
“I don’t want to go in and try to take out the parting line,” Nelson said. “I think this is what it is, and it represents a really wonderful approach to cast iron and the artist’s intent. I think that should be what speaks, not my interpretation of what it should look like now.”
The original piece that the mold is based on was probably made in the 1920s or ’30s, Nelson said. LoManto previously said Montague’s Spinner statue was cast in a foundry in Alabama, and the town bought it in the 1980s.
Layers of paint were apparently added to the statue over the years, which has softened the original shape of the piece, Nelson said. Part of his work over the last year has been to remove the layers of paint. Next he’ll add a chemical coat to weather-proof the statue.
In the process, details of the statue emerged that had been obscured by the layers of paint. For example, the Spinner’s clothes are finer than was apparent before.
“She was very scantily clothed,” Nelson said. “That’s what came up in the initial cleaning. The sculptor had some wonderful textural details.”
The delay in the park’s renovation came when workers discovered electrical wiring underground at the park, which necessitated modifications to the design, according to LoManto. That pushed the project from the summer of 2020 to spring of 2021. Montague Town Planner Walter Ramsey said previously that the whole project — including the refurbishment of the statue — is worth about $280,000, and is covered by a federal Community Development Block Grant.
Construction is expected to resume as the weather improves, LoManto said. It is now expected to be substantially complete by early summer, likely in June.
The reopening will likely be marked with some sort of event at the park, which could be the first town-organized public event since the pandemic began, LoManto said.
“There’s definitely a symbolic return to this park, as well as a Planning Department project that got completed,” LoManto said. “I think everybody is going to be thrilled when it goes up.”
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.
0 Response to "Restoration effort reveals details of Turners Falls' historic Spinner statue - The Recorder"
Post a Comment