Artist Commissioned to Create Tillie K. Fowler Memorial Sculpture in Jacksonville
July 1, 2008
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The City of Jacksonville has announced that Rhode Island-based sculptor Brower Hatcher has been commissioned by the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville through its Art in Public Places Program to create an outdoor sculpture to honor the late Tillie K. Fowler.
The artist was commissioned to commemorate the life and work of Fowler, a dedicated Jacksonville attorney and pioneering leader in local and national politics. The work is scheduled to be installed in early 2009 and will be prominently located outdoors in a circular plaza on the city's new public Northbank River Walk on the St. John's River, downtown.
The project was funded by a public/private partnership between the City of Jacksonville, the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, Holland & Knight LLP, and The Haskell Company. This memorial was initiated under former City Council President Elaine Brown.
"I have designed a work that embodies the strength, beauty and grace of Tillie Fowler," said Hatcher, president and artistic director of Mid-Ocean Studio, Inc. in Providence, Rhode Island. "Tillie's spirit will be captured in the image of a magnificent oak tree – strong, protective of her community, concerned for all and always reaching out."
The inspiration for the oak tree image came from Rev. Barnum McCarty, rector emeritus of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, who shared a touching story during Fowler's funeral service in March 2005. He recalled (excerpted), "The other day I drove up into the front yard of a dear friend of mine who was as close to Tillie as anyone. As I got out of the car and stood up straight to stretch my aging back, I looked up at and into the large and magnificent oak tree under which I was standing. I began studying it, how its strong and sturdy limbs gracefully bent and reached out in all directions to its environment, adding beauty and significance to its place on the earth. It allowed for light to come through its canopy, yet it also provided the comfort of shade. I said to myself that tree is Tillie. She may have been known as a Steel Magnolia, but to me she was a mighty oak. She remarkably reached out in all directions, gracing everything she touched. She always made a difference."
Fowler served as Jacksonville's first female City Council President from 1982-1985. She later served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives where she served on several key military committees. As Vice Chair of the Republican Conference, Fowler was the highest ranking woman in the U.S. Congress when she retired in 2000. She subsequently received both the Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Award and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. Fowler joined the Washington D.C. office of Holland & Knight in 2001, and died in March 2005.
The Tillie K Fowler Memorial will be 16 feet tall and 16 feet wide. It will consist of three main components: the trunk; the truss, which gives rigidity to the edge of the trunk and creates a transition to the orbs above; and the three orbs, which compose the foliage of the tree. According to the artist, the orbs represent the levels of energy of Fowler's spirit: the inner orb represents family; the second orb represents community; and the outermost orb represents her country.
The selection committee included Fowler's husband, Buck; Ginny Myrick, senior policy advisor and a colleague of Fowler's at Holland & Knight, as well as architects and community arts advocates. "We were greatly impressed with the scope and breadth of the 46 artists from all over the country who submitted proposals. After much deliberation, Hatcher's design was unanimously chosen," said Myrick.
About Tillie K. Fowler: Having served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congresswoman Fowler became an integral part of the leadership, where she served on the House Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittees on Military Installations and Facilities, and Military Readiness. She also served on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, subcommittees on Railroads, Ground Transportation and as Chair of Oversight, Investigations and Emergency Management.
Upon her departure from Congress, Fowler's extraordinary efforts to ensure a strong United States military were recognized by the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of Defense. She received the Navy's Distinguished Public Service Award and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. These are the highest civilian awards given by the Navy and the Department of Defense.
Rep. Fowler was appointed to the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in 2001. In May of 2003, the Secretary named her Chair of the board which advises the Secretary of Defense on issues central to strategic planning for the department. She was the first woman to serve as Chair of the Defense Policy Board in its 20-year history. She also served on the Chief of Naval Operations' Executive Panel.
In the spring of 2003, she was appointed by the Secretary of Defense to lead the seven-member panel created by Congress to review sexual misconduct allegations at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The panel conducted a 90-day study of the policies, management, organizational practices and cultural elements of the Academy that may have been conducive to alleged sexual misconduct, including sexual assaults and rape.
When allegations of prisoner abuse by U.S. military personnel at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq surfaced in 2004, the Secretary of Defense appointed Rep. Fowler, along with two former Secretaries of Defense and a retired four-star general, to a blue-ribbon panel charged with providing the Secretary with independent, professional advice on issues related to the allegations of prisoner mistreatment.
Fowler joined the Washington, D.C. office of Holland & Knight as a Partner in 2001 after a distinguished eight-year tenure in the House of Representatives. In 1998, she was chosen by her Republican colleagues to be the Vice Chair of the Republican Conference, making her the highest-ranking woman in the U.S. Congress when she retired. She also served for six years as a Deputy Majority Whip. Fowler died in March 2005.
About the Art in Public Places Program: Jacksonville's Art in Public Places Program (APP) uses designated funds from city construction and renovation projects to purchase works of public art to display in the community. In 1997, the City of Jacksonville passed an ordinance allocating .75 percent of each city construction and renovation project with a budget above $100,000 towards the creation and placement of public art. The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville administers the APP on behalf of the City of Jacksonville. For more information, contact Allison Graff at (904) 358-3600.
Contact: Susan Bass (813) 769-4326