How does this artwork elucidate its Description?
The work is 12 feet (3.7 m) tall and almost 6 tons in weight, including a 6.5-foot (2.0 m) bronze statue weighing 700 lbs. and a granite base weighing more than 11,000 lbs. The granite is from New Hampshire, and is similar in color to the granite used in the Rhodes State Office Tower. The bronze portion is hollow, with metal a quarter-inch thick. The figure is welded to a four-inch plinth, which is bolted to the pedestal, increasing the work's stability over traditional securement methods.The work depicts James A. Rhodes (the longest-serving governor of Ohio and the namesake for the Rhodes State Office Tower) as he looked in 1963. The statue sits on a small plaza outside the Rhodes Tower, facing East Broad Street. The statue depicts Rhodes wearing a business suit, striding forward, and carrying a briefcase in his right hand. The appearance was described in 1982 as a "Rhodes trademark", used in his campaign literature since 1962, and seen in photographs published in news media.The work was sculpted by longtime Columbus resident Gary Ross, who also sculpted To Honor the Immigrants, located in Battelle Riverfront Park.
An inscription on the base reads: JAMES A. RHODES / HE SERVED AS GOVERNOR / FOR 16 YEARS–– / LONGER THAN ANY OTHER / STATE GOVERNOR IN THE / HISTORY OF THE UNION / GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF OHIO / 1975–1983 / 1962–1971 / AUDITOR OF THE STATE OF OHIO / 1953–1963 / MAYOR OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS / 1944–1953 / AUDITOR OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS / 1940–1944 / MEMBER OF THE COLUMBUS BOARD / OF EDUCATION / 1938–1940 / DEDICATED: DECEMBER 5, 1982.
Plaster castings of the statue are stored by the Ohio History Connection, the organization authorized by the state assembly to oversee the project.After Rhodes' death in 2001, the statue's manufacturer, Studio Foundry, revealed that the inside of the statue has a hidden engraved message, a tribute to the four students killed at Kent State University during the Kent State shootings in 1970. As governor, Rhodes had ordered the Ohio National Guard to the university to face the student protests.
bronze statue East Broad Street Rhodes State Office Tower Kent State shootings Gary Ross Battelle Riverfront Park Kent State University James A. Rhodes Ohio History Connection To Honor the Immigrants