For the first time in nearly 90 years, a town pump will serve as a gathering spot at Bridge and High streets.
Unlike the original well that supplied water to the community in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Daily Chores is a work of art that pays homage to the place Dubliners used to congregate and share news of the day.
The sculpture by Westerville artist Mike Tizzano will be dedicated June 5 at 5:30 p.m. at BriHi Square. Residents are invited to take part in the celebration, which will include the artist sharing his inspiration and a little history about the original town pump.
Tizzano began working on the bronze and stone piece in early 2012 at the Dublin Community Recreation Center, where he engaged the public in the process. DCRC members and visitors were able to interact with the artist, asking questions and watching him create first a quarter-scale clay maquette before moving on to the life-size sculpture – a process that Dublin Arts Council Executive Director David Guion called a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“It’s unusual to have an artist creating a piece for the community over such a long period of time that is finally realized in bronze,” Guion says. “I think it’s really exciting for people to see it come about.”
Tizzano says the interaction with the public has been very rewarding. “I’ve never heard of anybody doing what I
do,” he says. Tizzano says once the artwork was cast in bronze and moved to the plaza at BriHi Square for installation, people became even more engaged.
The sculpture features a young brother and his older sister fetching a pail of water. “I think a lot of people really love the expression on the boy’s face,” Tizzano says. “I think so many people can relate.”
He says he has enjoyed the chance to interact with people throughout the process: “It’s just been an absolute joy. I really feel part of the Dublin community.”
Tizzano believes Daily Chores will have broad appeal across different age groups. Older adults have shared memories of growing up on farms where they used pumps similar to the one featured in Daily Chores. Guion added that children relate more to sculptures that feature figures their own size, such as the boy and girl retrieving the water.
The idea to recreate the town pump was first proposed by former Dublin resident and member of the Dublin Historical Society Carl Karrer (see “Where Are They Now?” page 30) in 2008. The original town pump was an integral part of daily life for the community until it had to be removed in 1925 after a car ran into the cement barricade surrounding it.
Tizzano’s version features bronze, natural limestone and running water with the figures of the girl and boy. Local schoolchildren served as models, including Mackenzie Mescher posing as the girl, and Austin Wagner, Colin Hoffman and Trenton Allen serving as a composite for the likeness of the boy.
The sculpture is the latest addition to the Art in Public Places program, a collaboration between the City of Dublin and Dublin Arts Council. The Dublin Historical Society is also a partner in the project.
Nancy Richison is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at laurand@cityscenemediagroup.com.
