Sculptor Sergio Furnari Recreates an American Icon

Posted on 06. Dec, 2009 by in Arts and Culture, Feature, Sandeep Junnarkar, Uncategorized, Urban

Furnari based his sculpture on this 1932 photo

Furnari based his sculpture on this 1932 photo.

Queens-based artist Sergio Furnari has stayed afloat during the recession by working on projects abroad.

But Furnari got another chance to create an American icon on American soil when two Indiana restaurateurs commissioned a remake of his life-sized sculpture of 11 ironworkers eating lunch on beam during the construction of Rockefeller Center, which is based on a 1932 photograph.

The sculpture will be installed on top of a 1920s-themed restaurant in Valparaiso, Indiana called Industrial Revolution, which is set to open in February 2010. The restaurant is meant to glorify American ingenuity and to serve a helping of national pride alongside the burgers, pizza, and Cobb salad.

“The concept is a tribute to the people who build and protect our country. Our slogan is ‘saluting America’s greatness.’” said Mike Leeson, 36, one of the owners. “We want people to leave there knowing that America is still the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Watch and listen to this audio slideshow of Furnari and his workers creating the sculptures and loading them up for transport to Indiana.

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4 Responses to “Sculptor Sergio Furnari Recreates an American Icon”

  1. saundra

    27. Apr, 2010

    I saw the sculpture at Lotus Art Gallery in plymouth MI is this the same one? It is amazing.

    Reply to this comment

  2. Beth

    10. Jun, 2010

    This is wonderful — a brilliant idea to place it on top of a restaurant by that name. This calls for a visit for sure.

    Reply to this comment

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. “Lunch on a Skyscraper” Goes to Indiana « Randolph Mase’s Weblog - February 3, 2010

    [...] You can watch a video description from Furnari at http://blogs.journalism.cuny.edu/interactive2010/2009/12/06/sculptor-sergio-furnari-recreates-an-ame…, and you can even buy smaller versions of his sculpture at [...]
  2. Lunch Atop A Billboard « TORONTO ADSCAPES - August 13, 2010

    [...] process of creating the sculptures included fitting real clothing over steel mesh framing. The head and arms were formed from an epoxy [...]

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