Jesse Salisbury, Creator of Gathering Stones, This Afternoon at Fish Point on Munjoy Hill.
A Part of the Installation Late This Afternoon at Fish Point.
A Bathhouse at Fish Point on July 4, 1899. Photo from Maine Memory Network.
Massive Pieces of Granite that Arrived Today from Stuben, Near Acadia, at Fish Point. On Wednesday,Three More Pieces of the Installation Will Arrive. Two of Them Much Larger Than These According to Jessee.
“We are just warming up for what is coming later this week,” said Jesse Salisbury this afternoon, grinning at the prospect. Jesse, his father, Jim, and his son, Ren, had already spent several hours offloading massive pieces of granite and basalt, carefully manuvering them into place at Fish Point. But the largest pieces will not arrive by truck from way up in Stuben until later this week – probably on Wednesday. It’s expected that the installation will be completed on Thursday.
This installation – “Gathering Stones” – is intended to be mindful of a living room – with tables and chairs explained Tony Adams, the first executive director for TEMPO art. “Humans put stones together to make a gathering place,” Tony said, as he filmed much of the process this afternoon for TEMPO art.
The boulders come from the roughly 70 acres of land on which Jesse and his family live as well as the surrounding area he said today. Fish Point was once a popular beach for residents of the Hill. The area contained bathhouses for public use.
On October 17. 2012, the president and founder of Friends of the Eastern Promenade, Diane Davison appeared with June LaCombe, an art consultant, before the Historic Preservation Board. The two had teamed up seeking permission to place two iron sculpture animal figures in a prominent location on the Eastern Promenade. The artist of the proposed animal figures was a client of LaCombe. The two would be for sale and the non-profit Friends would receive 10% of the proceeds from their sale. The animal figures would remain in place on the Eastern Promenade from October 2012 until the following September 2013. The HP tabled the idea claiming there were no guidelines for such a project. One HP board member wondered aloud if it was appropriate to place for sale art in a public place?
About five years earlier the Friends had been established to protect trees that were slated to be cut down on the Promenade. Please go to a post herein dated October 17, 2012 for more information on the subject. Two years later, TEMPO art was established to showcase art in public spaces with specific guidelines.
Tony Adams is the first executive director of TEMPO art. He began his tenure at the helm on December 2, 2019. Most recently from Chicago, Illinois, he has an extensive background in the theatre there. He served as executive director and artistic director for the Halcyon Theatre from 2006-2019. As an individual, he has worked as an actor, designer, producer and writer according to the non-profit’s webpage.
This temporary installation will be on display for one year. Jesse has other installations in Portland, including the Jetport. For more information, please visit TEMPO art Portland.