Throughout the many stages and medical procedures of my cancer treatments years ago, I felt the extreme love and intense pulling together from my family. More than any time before in my life, I realized the true meaning of “All Together”.

My father as a young man, was an exceptional Greco Roman wrestler which only allows you to use your hands. I was moving to wire figures around with the arm to arm grasp he showed me with this wrestling in mind. Listening to music, I heard John Lennon sing the oft used Beatle phrase, “All Together Now”. It derives from the comradery and mutual joy of everyone singing together in British pubs. The three word phrase inspired one of those rare epiphanies that happen when you are creating.You wish you could bottle it! Inspired by the words, four powerful Atlas like figures developed in fluid interactive motion.
All of the figures are either clasping hands, arms and shoulders to provide mutual support.

The figures are realistic, yet sculpted with the flowing geometric planes, enabling the viewer to truly relate toa modern sculpture on a humanistic level. They are athletically muscular, yet there is an openness of sight lines and space. There is a stability within this distinct movement, felt from the feet and legs rising from the base as if they were firm tree roots, supporting a giant tree with massive
Intertwining limbs.

 

It is interesting to note that many viewers, only realize, after looking at it for a period of time; that none of the figures have heads! There are no separate individuals. The four figures become a single life force of the collaborative strength effort amongst many directed towards a single goal. As an artist, I am repeating in clay, another line from the song “ Nothing you can do that can’t be done”.
Conceptually speaking, the male figures in the maquette were 190-200 pound men.When I sculpted the 19 foot monument, the figures became to lean to me and I further bulked them to more Atlas 230-240 bodies.

Through good fortune, the clay version of All Together Now was viewed as a fully realized idea by Wareham development, a major West coat developer. After seeing it in clay, then a bronze maquette, they commissioned it for the now well known public monument and “meeting place” viewed by tens of thousands of people each day, who drive East over the San Francisco Bay Bridge. It is surrounded by a fountain with landscaped park seating between two major buildings. It introduces the entrance to the Public Greenway.
There is a major restaurant on the ground floor of one building with preferred seating viewing the monument. It has been put on the permanent Art tour and has been called a masterpiece by the city manager.
Wareham Development, the continuing developer of this multiple square mile bio-tech and residential development has place the original maquette in the middle of their main office board room table as a symbol of their goal of total team effort philosophy.
I am proud to say, that the public reaction has been so positive to it-that the Wareham has since awarded me three additional commissions.