This drawing is the second in the "Intersecting Principles" series. When I travel the city of Fall River, this area somehow feels like the roots of the city. This is where the Taunton River meets what is left of the captured and piped in mouth of the Quequechan River. Sure the shoreline is actually about seven mile long, but this is at the base of Downtown. This is where the Fall River Line ships moored. The life blood of the city in the nineteenth century pulsed through this area like the true blood of a man's heart. Native Americans crossed the river here. King Phillip's warriors fought and lost battles with the British here.
The story of Fall River starts here.
Today, it is the Home of Battleship Cove, Heritage Park, the Fall River Carousel, (once the pride and joy of Lincoln Park). There is a large commercial pier, a railroad yard and a few working factories. There is also a Railroad Museum, a Marine Museum, few restaurants and and bars. The Narrows Center for the Arts with two galleries a state of the art performance space and several artist studios sits three floors above it all. All in all a very busy place, one that I stroll between brush strokes and contemplation.
It seemed a fitting second step. From here I can look up toward my city, look out across the river, or take in the living history that continues. The sounds of the traffic crossing the big blue Braga bridge echo and give surreal din to the colliding diversity and shifting priorities of a struggling city.
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| Walking on Water / 14x20 graphite on paper |
So, that said, if "Church Steeple" represents family values and the beginnings of a political viewpoint, "Walking on Water" represents the principles of work and play intersecting along the waterfront, the rail yards, and the public spaces filled with high hopes and grand intentions.
Intersecting Principles is a new series of work, funded in part by the Fall River Cultural Council, a subsidiary of the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
