Been to a ballet or symphony lately? Maybe you caught a movie with some friends or saw your favorite band play downtown. Chances are you were fixated on enjoying the art and were amazed at how they accomplished such a thing. No matter how effortless it seems, there is always a 'behind the scenes' where you find harried staff, exhausted writers, or weary performers. Good bronze sculpture can be no different. Lets dig through the 'to file' pile of reference material for 'Soul of the Forward and Faithful' and take a look at some of the titles that helped the WWII Memorial come to life.
Saint Anthony Nears Completion
Mardie's studio is abuzz with the careful crafting of the enlargement for her latest commissioned work, a statue for Westminster Colorado's new Saint Anthony North Health Campus. She is enlarging the maquette to a full-sized statue of nearly 7 feet tall. Mardie's contemporary vision for this beloved saint positions the child on the ground, taking his first steps in a trusting walk of faith.
As with all of her sculptures, Mardie sought models with specific character traits to give the work integrity and truthfulness. The toddler is a child of a dear friend, and the saint is portrayed by a gentle, fatherly, and spiritual man who is on the board of the United Way.
Saint Anthony North Health Campus opens in March 2015, and the sculpture will be installed in the fall.
Grand ceremony honoring the WWII Marine Raider Memorial
Sculpture Entrustment Ceremony held on Nov. 12, 2014
Bright and blustery was the day on which Mardie Rees’ sculpture Soul of the Forward and Faithful was formally and ceremoniously entrusted to the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Va. The sparkling sunlight warmed the travertine walls of the rotunda as attendees filtered through the broad entrance way of the distinguished museum. The journey for the memorial bronze sculpture had been long, having had visits to the Tacoma Art Museum in Washington, the 2014 U.S. Marine Raider Reunion, and the San Diego Air and Space Museum before travelling cross-country for its official induction at the NMMC.
The charismatic Col. Giles Kyser (ret.) emceed the event, keeping the air light but reverent as he called for the posting of the colors and led guests in the singing of the national anthem. Museum director Lin Ezell was the first to address the crowd. She spoke of the museum’s plans for future expansion and its eventual doubling in size, and made clear that Rees’ memorial to the marines of WWII, generously donated by the U.S. Marine Raider Foundation, would be cared for in perpetuity as a permanent part of the exhibits in the collection of the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
Keynote speaker Maj. Gen. Joseph Osterman then stepped up and explained the role of today’s marines, and how a proclamation by Commandant James Amos this past summer made only more poignant the connection to the original WWII Raiders and their legacy that resounds in heart of the Corps.
Sculptor Mardie Rees then delivered a rousing and inspiring speech highlighting her vision in completing the sculpture. She spoke of those that she met during the project, WWII veterans who shared stories, collectors who assisted in the accuracy of the gear depicted in the piece, and countless marines, some highly decorated, and all honorable and respectable men. Upon the unveiling of Soul and the Forward and Faithful, Charles Meacham Sr., an original WWII Raider and the man whose vision was realized that day, related several war stories and the camaraderie he experienced as a marine. When asked what the sculpture meant to him, he summed it up in the two words that speak volumes about the sculpture’s emotive feeling and the very marines that it honors, “Semper Fidelis” – always faithful.
photos by renoufphotography.com
Press Release: WWII U.S. Marine Raider Sculpture Come to National Museum of the Marine Corps
Triangle, VA – A Marine Corps story that was born more than 70 years ago during World War II now reaches its final chapter in Triangle, VA. A life-like bronze statue, “Soul of the Forward and Faithful,” honors the U.S. Marine Raiders and will be donated to the National Museum of the Marine Corps on Wednesday, November 12 at 2:00pm. The sculpture first went on display this past summer in Tacoma, WA. and most recently at the San Diego Air & Space Museum, and will now rest among the many exhibits telling 239 years of Marine Corps history at the NMMC.
The Raiders were the Marine Corps’ first elite force created to serve in the Pacific Theater. They originated the Marines' appropriation of the idea of "Gung-ho," the spirit of cooperation and mutual support the sculpture depicts. They were constantly deployed considerably "forward" of the main body of Marines in combat, and as such; pioneered insertion and extraction methods that are still in use by special operations units today.
So iconic were the Marine Raiders that earlier this year, Gen. James Amos, then Commandant of the Marine Corps, announced that all units within Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) would change their names from Marine Special Operations Regiment or Battalion to Marine Raider Regiment, Marine Raider Battalion, and so forth.
"I knew in sculpting this piece that all the gear had to be historically accurate," says nationally recognized sculptor Mardie Rees, "from the sight on the Browning Automatic Rifle right down to the laces on the boots.”
The scene takes the Museum visitor back to November 1943 in the humid jungles of New Guinea. It features a Marine Raider holding a rifle, a War Dog Handler holding his German Shepherd, and a Navajo Code Talker relaying intelligence. “They are each strong and alert, but the keen viewer will also sense the surrounding danger, the vulnerability of the code talker, and the need to protect him at all costs,” says Reese. “The war dog is in mid-stride with one paw off the ground and the other foot deep in mud, anxious in seeking the enemy.” In the background, four additional Raiders on patrol creep through the dense jungle, armed with a breadth of weaponry and gear.
“This sculpture is full of life,” said Lin Ezell, director of the Museum. “It pleases the eye as a work of art and meets the Museum’s high standards for historical accuracy. The sculptor took great care to model from actual examples of the clothing, weapons, and accoutrements used by these Marines during World War II. She even factored in the wear and tear of being in the severe environment of the South Pacific for such a long time. We are excited to have this work of art for the collection as one more tool to interpret the story of the Raiders, dog handlers, and Code Talkers.”
Interviews and extensive research went into the final presentation, which is filled with the emotions of the soldiers depicted. To lend as much depth and authenticity as possible, even the models used had combat experience. The men who modeled for the BAR Man and Dog Handler were former Marines who each served two tours in Iraq. The man who modeled for the Code Talker was from the Navajo Nation. "He even spoke and sang in Navajo while I was sculpting," Rees said. Even the German Shepherd was sculpted from life. "His name is Finn, and I have a pound of his hair in my studio."
"It has been a great honor to sculpt a work that by its very nature is a World War II Memorial," Rees said at the formal unveiling in Tacoma. "This memorial is dedicated to our fathers, uncles, and grandfathers who served in WWII, to their bravery, their courage, their resolve and strength." Rees added that two of the original Marine Raiders are expected to be in attendance for the ceremony.
The National Museum of the Marine Corps is located at 18900 Jefferson Davis Highway in Triangle, VA. and is open 9:00 am – 5:00 pm daily except Christmas Day. Admission and parking are free. For more information, please call 703 784-6107 or visit the Museum’s website at www.usmcmuseum.org
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