In the summer of 1989, Tom was invited to work on a what was supposed to be a temporary, albeit quite involved, sculpture project at New York State’s Artist-in-Residence Program at Artpark, in Lewiston, NY.
Artpark was a great program that invited artists to spend 4-8 weeks during a summer to work on a proposed installation on site, which also allowed for the public to view the artists in action.
The piece he designed was called “Drums Along the Niagara” which consisted of three main elements: a winged figure called “Iroquois Angel ( or The Spirit of Victory)”, which stood a top a column of oil drums , a pyramid made of more oil drums, and a stone well, complete with a medusa head sculpture and a functioning fountain, all placed on the top of a plateau, near the Niagara River.
The figurative part of the installation had been too large for Tom to transport home so he had had to leave it behind. It was all but forgotten, until Irene Rykaszewski and Eva Nicklas of the Lewiston Arts Council found it, stored on the Artpark property in 1997.
Through much effort and dedication, by many people ( see news articles here), the sphere and figure part of the piece were eventually restored and installed permanently in the Joseph Davis Riverfront State Park in Lewiston in 1999, and where it still stands today.
TOM MULLANY 