The Making of a Bronze Statue, 1922 | From the Vaults

The Met
The Met
21,895
0
Published 2023-01-24
How do you make a monument? Produced by the Museum in 1922, this short film follows the American artist Alexander Phimister Proctor’s process of sculpting Theodore Roosevelt, from creating a small clay sketch and a plaster model through casting the final form in bronze using the famous lost-wax method. The work was unveiled in Portland, Oregon, where it remained until it was toppled by demonstrators on Indigenous Peoples Day of Rage in October 2020. As the role of monuments and public memory remain central to conversations about national character, a wide variety of contemporary artists have started to investigate the complicated histories of celebrated figures and to ask how and why we uphold certain narratives over others.

The film is accompanied by a new musical score, composed and performed by Ben Model. For more information, please visit: www.silentfilmmusic.com/

To listen to Ben Model's podcast episode about scoring this short film, please visit: www.silentfilmmusic.com/ep-55-music-for-unconventi…

To learn more about the statue’s relocation to Sandy, Oregon, please read: www.koin.com/news/oregon/monumental-shift-portland…

Subscribe for new content from The Met: youtube.com/user/metmuseum

#TheMet #Art #TheMetropolitanMuseumofArt #Museum

© 2023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art
All Comments (21)
  • @theodoranorton4779
    This is a real national treasure! Thank goodness it has been so carefully preserved and now digitized.
  • @SW-lw6mt
    Gozo Kawamura is the forgotten craftsman/sculptor. Amazing to see how he worked.
  • @erikferland6602
    This is really cool! The guy peening metal without hearing protection is probably glad this was a silent movie.
  • @williamjones3784
    I do this for a living. Amazing to see the techniques of the men who came before me.
  • @brylorbs69
    Fantastic! I learned so much and the music was delightful. Now, I'd really like to know some of the social history. Who were these men, these master craftsmen, who could never have imagined that we would be watching them 100 years later? Lost to history, I imagine. Thanks for posting this most enjoyable film!
  • @laracraft82
    Love how this has been preserved and talented tram too of artists 😀🥰
  • @blankchck
    I had to share this one. Thank you for preserving and posting this.
  • @linus2564tyler
    This is such a great video! Astounding, craftsmanship, amazing amount of work certainly helps you appreciate the craft, we need more videos like this!
  • @sierraecho884
    This is so awesome for us to be able to watch this.
  • @riproar11
    A side note: People in photos from 1922 have serious expressions on their faces, but in non-Holloywood motion pictures you can clearly people really did smile during times before the world turned color from black & white.
  • @thewinddb
    After watching this, it almost feels a shame to mainly credit only one artist. I seen many very skilled craftsmen/artists on this project.