Fannie Salter Salute, 2018
26'2" x 15' x 15'
Rough sawn white pine, fabricated steel.
'Fannie Salter Salute' was completed in 2018 at Franconia Sculpture Park under the Open Studio Fellowship Program.
'Fannie Salter Salute' is an interactive sculpture comparing and contrasting many different variations of a tower. Drawing inspiration from peculiar memories related to homesteading on a small farm in upstate New York, I utilize materials and concepts reminiscent of the farmyard landscape in conversation with distinct surrounding environments or ideas. 'Fannie Salter Salute' is reminiscent of a grain silo, a lighthouse, a water tower, or an observatory. The end result is strangely relatable and mysterious in its function. It illicits interaction offering contemplative spaces in the interior and on top. The viewer completes the sculpture while traversing up the staircase to the raised deck. The title alludes to the works layers of meaning. Fannie May Hudgins Salter was the last lighthouse keeper at Turkey Point, Maryland from 1935 to 1947. It was Fannie’s job to fill the lamps with oil and switch lenses multiple times a day. If the light went out at night, she awoke. These jobs no longer exist as lighthouses are now automated. The structure speaks on a nostalgic similar to stories like Fannie May’s.