TURNERS FALLS — Everyone knows that in the game of rock-paper-scissors, paper covers rock. But up until 2 p.m. Saturday, a thin beige sheet covered all three.
With help and with a proud smile, Turners Falls sculptor Tim de Christopher lifted the sheet that had been keeping his most recent project a mystery, unveiling his three-part sculpture: Rock, Paper, Scissors.
The sculpture, which is located at the pedestrian park at the intersection of Avenue A and Third Street in Turners Falls, took a year to complete before it could be brought in by forklift Wednesday and arranged over old curb stones and gravel. On Saturday, residents celebrated the town’s new addition with live music, food, a rock-paper-scissors contest, and of course, the formal unveiling.
“There’s a lot to look at,” de Christopher said to describe his piece. “It is stimulating and heartwarming.”
The artist said that through the sculpture, he aimed to incorporate elements of Turners Falls’ natural, social and industrial history.
“It’s sort of my gift to Turners Falls,” he said.
In terms of natural history, de Christopher used local red sandstone for the rock portion. Using Indiana limestone, he carved a paper mill to represent the town’s industrial history, and a barber shop, similar to Ed’s Barber Shop, to represent its social history. Both are patterned after the town’s mills and street front. A familiar figure is even walking out the barber shop door: former Town Administrator Frank Abbondanzio.
The rock isn’t simply a rock either. It has two dates carved into it: May 19, 1676, the date of the well-known battle between English settlers and Native Americans; and Nov. 8, 2016, the day of the most recent presidential election.
“I couldn’t let that go unacknowledged,” he said.
Erin MacLean, one of nine judges who unanimously selected de Christopher’s sculpture proposal last June from among 30 applicants from as far away as Seattle, said it was his clear understanding of Turners Falls, where he’s lived for 16 years, that captured her vote.
“I think it’s the one, for me, that had the best understanding of our area,” MacLean said. “The whole concept seemed very thought out and well considered.”
The project was primarily sponsored by Turners Falls RiverCulture. Director Suzanne LoManto and Montague Town Planner Walter Ramsey agreed a new sculpture in town meshes well with the goals of the 2013 Livability Plan to improve the streetscape and have more public art, while satisfying one of the goals of Turners Falls RiverCulture.
“One of the missions (of Turners Falls RiverCulture) is to bring culture into the daily lives of people,” LoManto said. “You shouldn’t have to go to the museum to see a work of art.”
LoManto said she feels Rock, Paper, Scissors is a positive sign of things to come.
“You get the feeling that we’re onto the next level, we’re onto the next thing,” LoManto continued. “It’s a visible sign of the direction the town is moving.”
Reach Shelby Ashline at: sashline@recorder.com
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