" The Foundry Crew at San Francisco Art Foundry January 1968"
From Left to Right:
George Goyer, Jeff Fogman, Onno de Ruijter laughing, Chester Comstock,
, Rol Brenneman
The Mermaid Fountain "Andrea" at Ghirardelli Square
in San Francisco
I
was hired by Ono DeRuyter to work in his foundry in 1966 where I
assisted in creating the Mermaid Fountain "Andrea" at
Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco. Helping to create this sculpture
in bronze was one of my earliest experiences in the creation of
a public monument. My participation included visits to Ruth Asawa's
studio to assist with coating the tail sections in wax in preparation
for casting and in the creation of lutto (Ground Fire Brick and
Plaster) molds for the castings. This was my first experience allowing
for exposure to the creative process behind monumental sculpture
from start to finish.
During
my tenure at San Francisco Art Foundry my apprenticeship training
included several guided tours by Ono to the Palace of the Legion
of Honor to see their collection of fine art bronzes. This historically
important collection of art includes original Greek castings and
castings done through the late 19th century in France including
works by Rodin, Arp, and other leading sculptors of the modern era.
These
castings were looked at and analyzed by Ono with the expert eye
of the modern foundry man. Ono was able to point out Roman Joints
and assembly marks and the differences in finishing techniques use
during the era in which each castings was made. This kind of viewpoint
was more than a lesson in the esthetics of the art because these
tours gave an inside viewpoint of how these sculptures were cast,
assembled and finished.
The
second mecca of fine art to which I made a pilgrimage was the infamous
cemetery and mausoleum of Forest Lawn in Los Angeles. This cemetery
and its obsession with a person's final resting palace was parodied
in the movie "The Loved Ones". Having seen the movie who
could ever forget the performance of Rod Stieger as " Joy Boy"
taking care of his mother who suffered from an eating disorder.
The Mermaid Fountain "Andrea" at Ghirardelli Square
in San Francisco
San Francisco City Scape
In
the monumental sculptured fountain located at Hyatt Hotel in Union
Square Ruth Asawa collaborated with school children in San Fransico
and created scenarios of life in San Francisco using play dough.
This fountain was also cast and assembled by the crew
at San Francisco Art Foundry in 1969. This creative landscaping
feature can be seen from several San Francisco Hotels on Union
Square.
Rico Lebrun "The Bound Figure of Lazuras"
Working with George Goyer on the casting problems associated
with
the sculptures by Rico Lebrun was part of my early traing as a
foundryman.
Rico Lebrun scultpture Constructed of wax sheets
and cast direct without intermediate molds.
My sister Andra Moore
was a model in the bay she modeled for numerous life drawing
classes in the local art classes throughout the bay area in the
early sixties. She was instrumental in introducing me to several
of my earliest artistic mentors, Steve Destabler and Alan
McCorckle who both were responsible for molding my talents
before going to work for the San Francisco Art foundry
In march of 1968
I was called up in the draft following the Tet Offensive in Viet
Nam. The US Army was looking for a few warm bodies to fill the draft
quota at the time and I was one of those who were caught up in the
draft. As luck would have it the day I reported for my draft
physical was a day when there were 6,000 people in the streets of
Oakland Ca. protesting the draft. I had to have a police escort
into the building to report for my draft physical.
I
chose to do my duty and enrolled in OCS to try and make the best
of my situation in the military. My First Duty station out of
OCS was Sami San Thialand where I did construction management
on local building projects for the US Armay Corp of Engineers.
Lt. Comstock ( Left) In Thialand 1969-1970
After receiving
my commission as an officer I spent the next four years in the
Army Corp of Engineers doing construction management.
My First Bronze "The Negress" 1966
A copy of "The Negress"
was donated to Reverend Jesse Jackson and Brigadier General
James Hamlet the first black commander of a US Army Division during
the time Reverend Jackson visited Fort Carson Colorado and delivered
his "Black is Beautiful" soliloquy in the early 1970's.
These good will gestures were part of the US Armies racial harmony
programs conducted by the Department of the Army following
the Viet Nam war.
Forth Division Vietnam Memorial at Fort Carson, Co.
Following a one year tour
at Camp Sami San in southern Thailand I was assigned state side
duty at Fort Carson Co. Part of my off duty recreation was
creating art for the Fourth Division. I did a representation of
the Division Mascot a black Stallion for a gift item given to outgoing
staff officers. I was ask to do a representation of the Buffalo
which was the Mascot for the 43rd support group, called the providers,
and I did a representation of Kit Carson for the Fort Carson
Museum and a representation of the Pack Mules use to hall howitzers
by the Tenth Mountain Division.
I also displayed some of
my early art work in some art shows related to the racial harmony
programs run by the Dept of the Army
In 1973 Brigadier
General John Bennett ask me to design the first Vietnam Memorial
ever erected in the USA. This design and the subsequent difficulties
with producing the full scale model lead me to resign my commission
in the US Army to enable me to pursue my art career.
Following his command of
the Fourth Division, General Bennett went to work for Alexander
Haig when he was the chief of staff of the White House during the
Nixon administration. General Bennett was placed in charge
of security on the Watergate tapes which lead me to believe he may
be a good candidate for the identity of the infamous Deep
Throat.
Of course this strange
scenario is pure speculation on my own part which can never
be fully substantiated.
My decision to leave the
Army proved to be a good one. However the emotional pain of not
being allowed to participate fully in the execution of the Vietnam
Memorial bothered me for many years afterward. Every memorial day
I still get twinges of anger at the assistant divisional commader
I had to deal with that proved to be such an over bearing asshole.
However the good news is that after leaving the military my art
proved to be an immediate commercial success and I have been doing
bronze sculpture and related services for bronze artists for the
subsequent 31 years.
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