CSCC, Columbus, OH.
11.5′ x 14′ x 20′
Bronze
2000
Renowned wood carver Elijah Pierce was born in 1892. The youngest child of two former slaves, Pierce spent his youth carving wood, with a simple pocket knife, the figures of animals on his family’s farm in Baldwyn, Mississippi. As an adult, Pierce was a barber and preacher though he soon grew famous for his prolific carvings of biblical scenes. In 1982, just two years before his death, his talents and vast influence on the American artistic community were recognized with a prestigious National Heritage Fellowship, awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts. His home and barbershop were located on Columbus’ northeast side. The two-room shop that he built in 1954 at 534 East Long St. served as a gallery to display his carvings as well as a place to fulfill his ministry. The large book behind him references the story of Elijah from Second Kings and reads, “Elijah, your life is a book and every day is a page.” The book also refers to his renowned large-scale plywood book, carved with Biblical passages, the spine bound together by giant rings.
Since Pierce was a wood carver and a minister, he is shown deep in concentration, from one angle he appears to be praying but, from the other, he is seen carving with his pocketknife. An ethereal cloak appears to be floating in the air beside him, symbolic of the biblical story of Elijah and his cloak. The impression of his barber’s stool appears beneath the cloak, referencing the seat and cloth he would have used in his barbershop. Leaning against the cloak is a staff with quotes from the Bible carved into it, which was one of Elijah’s own artistic mediums. These symbols and references included in my sculpture speak to his multifaceted relationship to religion, art and life. The statue itself is 10’ tall and sits on two 8” risers.