Larger than life

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This article was published 24/05/2017 (3251 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A sculptor who created one of Winnipeg’s most recognizable works of public art makes a triumphant return to the city today.

Ruth Abernethy, whose life-size bronze statue of Manitoba Theatre Centre co-founders John Hirsch and and Tom Hendry stands at the entrance of the Market Avenue theatre, unveils her book Life and Bronze: A Sculptor’s Journal at McNally Robinson Booksellers at 7:30 p.m.

The sculpture, which Abernethy calls “the chaps” but is actually titled Imagine, MTC, depicts Hirsch standing, creating an idea of a theatre company in the sky with his hands, while Hendry, seated next to him, scratches his chin, perhaps with a dramatic idea of his own. The piece was unveiled in October 2008, in honour of MTC’s 50th anniversary.

Besides being one of the country’s top sculptors, the Ontario-born Abernethy, 57, was an ideal choice to create the likenesses of Hirsch and Hendry because she is a former MTC employee; she was the company’s master of props in 1980, and would later work with Hirsch at Stratford when she joined the Ontario theatre festival in 1981.

“I think that man walked around with his arms out, reimagining the world,” Abernethy recalls in a phone interview. “It was absolutely characteristic Hirsch.”

“I had not yet met Tom Hendry… Anyone who had the capacity to be a close friend of John Hirsch’s for many years would have been very thoughtful, very patient and would have a huge streak of humour and kindness. If we’re going to imagine the moment of thinking of MTC, John would be out there building castles in the air and Tom would be scratching his chin, wondering how they were going to do it.

“I started my research in earnest and what did I find? All these shots of Tom Hendry with his hands pinched in, very thoughtful, very patient.”

Abernethy enjoys that visitors to Royal MTC, especially during the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival in July, interact with the sculpture, often placing hats or tickets on the statue.

“When I was at MTC, we never did go to the far side of Rorie Street,” she says. “That area has now become a vibrant part of the city, so they’re beautifully placed, Tom and John. It’s hugely satisfying.”

The sculptor’s book, released by Vancouver’s Granville Island Publishing, also includes Abernethy’s other major Manitoba work, Duke the Bear, a life-size likeness of a black bear located in Rossburn’s Memory Park. The bear was shot by a poacher in nearby Riding Mountain National Park in 1992 and at the time was the largest black bear recorded — almost two-and-a-half metres tall and 368 kilograms.

The Manitoba statues are just two of many bronze likenesses Abernethy has created in Canada and the United States, many of which have become community landmarks. Among the other notable sculptures Life and Bronze highlights are the portrait of Grammy Award-winning classical pianist Glenn Gould, which sits outside the CBC’s Glenn Gould Studios in downtown Toronto. It encourages passersbys to join the eccentric genius on the park bench he sits on.

That aspect of interactivity has helped prevent vandals from defacing her sculptures, always a fear for those who’ve created public art. Abernethy cites her Mackenzie King statue — which sits outside the high school the former prime minister attended in Kitchener, Ont. — which has never been defaced and has become a source of pride for students.

“When I heard it would be outside a high school, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I could hear the spray bombs coming out,” Abernethy says. “(But) the kids adore him. He gets a Tim Hortons cup or a scarf in the winter. Never damaging. It’s a lovely gesture of care. The nicest patina you can get on a piece of bronze is a thousand loving hands.

“If people love the characters you’ve installed and the gestures you’ve created are authentic, then they see real neighbourhood characters, and they are loved and protected.”

Her next sculpture to be unveiled is also included in Life and Bronze. It’s a likeness of Queen Elizabeth II that will be in Queen’s Park in Toronto, commissioned to mark the British monarch’s 65th year on the throne, as well as Canada’s and Ontario’s 150th anniversaries. It’s scheduled to be unveiled on Canada Day.

Friends and benefactors had to convince Abernethy to write the book. Her fears had always seemed to get in the way in the past, she says.

“A book is very flat, and for a sculptor, that’s a very daunting prospect.”

alan.small@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter:@AlanDSmall