“Barrie is an incredibly special place — don’t be ordinary."
Those are words from Hillsdale sculptor Marlene Hilton Moore to Barrie city council as they debate the proposed Barrie sign at the city's waterfront.
In last week’s Everything King, I did an 'udderly' tongue-in-cheek column on some past art exhibits we have seen in the city over the years.
The most talked about was The Breast, which was displayed outside the former MacLaren Art Centre on Toronto Street in 1993.
While the column was not supposed to be about that one piece of art, I was taken to task by a few readers for not doing enough research on it.
The article garnered a lot of chatter, so this week I am doing a follow-up with the artist herself to get a few observations.
Thankfully for me, Marlene Hilton Moore did not find me to be the big boob for having some fun around her creation.
In fact, she said: “Art is about causing a reaction. Conversation is always a good thing.”
So, here’s what I know now about The Breast.
It was made of bronze, but is hollow inside.
It weighs about 1,500 pounds and had to be transported and installed by crane.
She carved three or four statements inside it.
It's open at the back.
It was an outdoor exhibition for a couple of years.
While all art is open to interpretation, Moore’s intent was to represent three things — the female, motherhood and nurturing.
It had nothing to do with breast cancer, as many have suggested, though she agrees it certainly could.
It is currently hanging out (sorry, had to do that) at her Hillsdale property, about 20 minutes north of Barrie.
She says for years she was referred to as “the breast lady” by children and has never personally heard anything negative about the piece. Most people got the deeper message.
Moore says: “I got the most reaction from men, who say it stirred something in them, making them think of the women in their lives, from mothers to sisters to daughters. If anyone found it sexist or made light of it, that has more to say about them than it does about me.”
So, back to the reason I wrote about the sculpture in the first place. The city has approved, if private fundraising can be secured by October, that we will get an-as-yet-to-be-designed "(Heart symbol) Barrie” sign to be used for picture backdrops and for marketing purposes.
That, too, has sparked lots of conversation.
I had to ask a true artist what she thinks about it.
“Someone referred to it as art. I don’t think of it that way. It is graphic art, I guess, but really it's just a sign. We can “I (Heart) Barrie," “I (Heart) My Dog," “I (Heart) New York,” but it's all been done. Public art, if it's truthful and meaningfuI, always speaks. If I were advising council, I would say you have a waterfront that is a gift. It's imperative to think of uniqueness. Unique is always going to be remembered. Don’t think mundanely. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be ordinary.”
Moore has done 33 sculptures in bronze and a myriad of art works using different mediums exhibited across the country.
To be honest, the extent of my knowledge of sculpting comes from the movie Ghost and that scene with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. (Short pause while the music plays in your head.)
This Ms. Moore is so accomplished that I didn’t dare reveal the fact I enjoy light-up pictures and consider myself quite a diamond art diva.
Art is in the eye of the beholder, right? Right?
So, there you have a little more on the story of The Breast.
I still think my idea of it as a focal point has merit.
I didn’t ask if gravity has affected The Breast, but was advised she/it could always come out of retirement.
