Published: March 07, 2008 11:35 pm      

Rock proposes sculpture donation

CLINTON — A former Clinton resident is offering to donate a sculpture he is creating to the city.

Sculptor Earle Rock approached the City Services Committee on Wednesday to explain his proposal and seek city approval for the sculpture project. Rock said he grew up in Clinton and while completing his senior thesis at Drake University, he decided his goal would be to give away a major work of art to the city. Rock previously has donated an 800-square-foot mural to the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation of Central Pennsylvania.

Rock presented the committee with an informational packet including an outline of the project, estimated budget, project timeline and photographs of a model sculpture. Rock said the sculpture is loosely based on the story of Sisyphus. In Homer’s “The Odyssey,” Sisyphus was sentenced to roll a huge rock up a steep hill but before he reached the top, the rock always would escape him and he was eternally bound to begin again.

According to the proposal, the life-size figurative sculpture entitled “The Necessity of Resistance” will be an image of a man engaged in a struggle against unseen forces. The figure will be carved from a block of white Alabama marble and mounted on a low, wide gray poured concrete base with a reflective polished black granite monolithic wall facing the protagonist.

“The Necessity of Resistance’ represents how Clinton continues to prove that one can come from an era of promise, experience the pain of lost opportunities and still find the inherent strength to triumph over the confines of circumstance,” the proposal states.

Rock said to cover the estimated project budget of $165,400, he will apply for grant funding and seek a 501c3 status, non-profit organization sponsorship, sell studies of the sculpture through galleries and offer a patron package. The financing will cover the cost of materials, supplies, the artist’s salary and benefits, publicity, transportation, installation of the sculpture and other costs.

The city would be responsible for providing a permanent location and lifetime routine maintenance and insurance for the sculpture once installation is complete. Rock said that if placed indoors, the sculpture will require application of a sealing product every year. He acknowledged that if placed outside, the concrete base of the sculpture may deteriorate over time, but the granite and marble will not show much wear.

He added that if the sculpture is placed outside, there will be greater possibilities for locations and the size of the project would not have to be reduced.

Rock commented that he has been in communications with monument companies in DeWitt and Eldridge regarding the project, trying to keep as much of the installation localized as possible. He said he anticipates the first phase of the project, fund raising and the initial design, to continue through the end of this year. He said next year would be the study phase, in which he would create the drawings and photographs, to be followed in 2010 with the carving and cutting phase. He estimated the sculpture to be completed by March or April 2011, the pouring of the concrete to occur in May or June 2011 and the piece to be unveiled summer 2011.

Mayor Rodger Holm asked former Mayor LaMetta Wynn to comment on the project, as she had been the first point of contact for the city when Rock approached her as mayor. Wynn said that after listening to the proposal, she was impressed with Rock’s intent.

“I was very impressed that a young man would want to present something to the city,” Wynn said. “He’s just done a great job and I’m hoping the city will consider this.”

Holm agreed saying, “I too am impressed with his work and dedication to the community.”

City Administrator Gary Boden remarked that he has been in on some of the meetings regarding the project and he thinks it is “a fine opportunity for the city.” Boden said the placement of the sculpture is a big question, but noted that a sculpture garden could be evolving in Riverview Park.

The CSC approved a motion to put the issue on the next Clinton City Council Committee of the Whole agenda for discussion and possible approval.

Rock spent his youth in eastern Iowa, graduating from the Clinton Community School District in 1986. He went on to obtain an Associate of Arts degree from Mount Saint Clare College in 1992. Earle attended Drake University in Des Moines and earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with Honors in 2005, majoring in drawing with a minor in sculpture.