harlan hubbard

A Frankfort, Indiana Sculpture

Working from photographs and videos provided by Bill Caddell, from Wendell Berry’s biography, and from Harlan’s writings, I composed this bronze portrait of Harlan.  The photos spanned several decades and showed a number of angles.  I had the face of many Harlans to choose from, but there was one soul, one essence that I hope I have captured.  Steadfastness, stamina, commitment, kindness, inner peace, visionary, are words I kept in mind as I worked.  His hands are over sized, symbolic of physical work, as is the garden hoe he holds.  His body I rendered rough and weathered to suggest the forces of nature: the river currents, wind, rain, and erosion that he lived so much with in harmony.

Bronze.
31 x 30 x 22 inches.