ROCKLAND — A sculpture on display at the city’s Ferry Terminal Park that takes aim at President Trump was placed without permission or knowledge of city officials.
Artist Chris Gamage of Rockland said that time was of the essence and he did not want to go through the red tape that it would take to try to get formal approval for his piece “Common Cents.”
Gamage and some friends placed his 300-pound aluminum artwork in the back of a pickup truck and put it at the park Sept. 22.
City Manager Tom Luttrell said on Friday that he was looking into the matter, but it had not gone through any city review such as the Parks and Recreation Committee.
“I am trying to locate the sculptor to have him meet with me and go through the proper channels for the sculpture,” the city manager said.
Luttrell said he has not received any calls about the sculpture.
Artist Chris Gamage and some friends moved “Common Cents” to Rockland’s Ferry Terminal Park in the back of a pickup truck. Stephen Betts/The Courier-Gazette
The aluminum sculpture is a coin set in concrete. The side facing Main Street has a caricature silhouette of President Trump. On that side is a quote from American Revolution activist Thomas Paine “O ye that love mandkind!! Ye that dare oppose, not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth.”
On the other side are the words “Common Cents,” “Common Decency” and “Common Courtesy.”
Gamage likened the placement of the sculpture to placing a political sign on public property such as traffic islands.
The genesis of his sculpture came five to six years ago, saying he wanted to point out the lack of common sense in the world. He said when President Trump was elected, he felt things were getting even crazier, and he knew what he would create.
He created the sculpture, which he began in February 2018, in his studio, Bog Bronze.
“My work until now has been personal not political, but desperate times call for desperate measures,” he said. “I’m not a political person but now is the time if you have something to say you better say it.”
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