Liberty Arm and Torch
Leo Sewell's Monument to Fun!
As part of the restoration and expansion of Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park, Please Touch is creating a huge ‘monument to fun’ made out of toys. As visitors enter the Great Hall, a stunning space crowned by a soaring dome, they will encounter a 40-foot replica of the Statue of Liberty’s Arm and Torch. In true Please Touch Museum fashion this sculpture will be created out of toys, games and other ‘found objects’–wood, plastic and metal–gathered and assembled by Philadelphia artist Leo Sewell. The subject matter holds a special place in Memorial Hall’s history: The original Statue of Liberty Arm and Torch was displayed at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, the world’s fair for which Memorial Hall was built, as part of a fundraising effort. Cash donations were collected in Philadelphia from May to November 1876, to help fund the pedestal that now holds the full statue in New York Harbor.
Why did the Arm & Torch visit Philadelphia?
Sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to design a sculpture with the year 1876 in mind for completion, to commemorate the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence. The Statue of Liberty was a joint effort between America and France and it was agreed upon that the American people were to build the pedestal, and the French people were responsible for the Statue and its assembly here in the United States. However, lack of funds was a problem on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In the United States, theatrical events, art exhibitions, auctions and prize fights assisted in providing needed funds. The Centennial Exhibition was an ideal event to raise funds for the project. Financing for the pedestal was completed in August 1885, and pedestal construction was finished in April of 1886. On October 28, 1886, the dedication of the Statue of Liberty took place in front of thousands of spectators. She was a Centennial gift ten years late.
About Leo Sewell: ?Leo Sewell is no stranger to Please Touch Museum. He is the creator of "Artie," the popular life-sized elephant sculpted from hundreds of discarded playthings, including a youth football helmet, a 1960s era Batmobile, Smurfs, a Spider-Man action figure, and a red Rock ’Em Sock 'Em Robot (sans his blue opponent). Sewell, who says he "grew up near a dump," has played with junk for 40 years, and has developed his own assemblage technique. His works are collected by corporations, museums, and individuals throughout the world. Leo continues to cull the refuse of Philadelphia out of which he fashions pieces of all sizes, from a life-sized housecat to a 24-foot stegosaurus. His sculptures have appeared on Captain Noah and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, and are a favorite at Ripley's Believe It or Not Museums in 23 cities worldwide. For more details on his work, visit www.leosewell.net.
Leo Sewell has been collecting objects for the Arm and Torch sculpture since 2005. He completed the flame in his Philadelphia studio in 2006, and he will begin erecting the 40-foot sculpture in Memorial Hall in early 2008.
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