Edgar Allan Poe Foundation selects finalists in sculpture competition

September 23, 2011|By Jeremy C. Fox, Town Correspondent, Globe Staff

By Jeremy C. Fox, Town Correspondent

Boston’s Edgar Allan Poe Square is one step closer to having a sculpture celebrating its namesake, as a local nonprofit group dedicated to the Boston-born author announced the finalists in a competition to design a piece of public art.

The Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston and the Boston Art Commission selected the finalists from a pool of 265 artists from 42 states and 13 countries, all vying to have their work adorn the small, city-owned plaza at the southeast corner of Charles Street South and Boylston Street, across from Boston Common.

The finalists are Stefanie Rocknak of Oneonta, N.Y., a team made up of Cambridge sculptor Ann Hirsch and Boston architect Robert Olson; and a team made up of architects Jennifer Bonner and Christian Stayner, both of Los Angeles. Each will receive a $1,000 grant from the city’s Edward Ingersoll Browne Trust Fund to produce plans for their designs.

Their plans will be available for public review and comment through online forums and open meetings to be scheduled later this year.

In a statement, Karin Goodfellow, staff director at the Boston Art Commission, praised the finalists’ talents and the Poe Foundation’s efforts to erect a piece of art that would be a credit to its subject and to the city.

“The high caliber of the artists selected as finalists signifies not only the commitment of the Poe Foundation to create an exceptional artwork for the City of Boston but also the excitement felt in Boston and beyond for Edgar Allan Poe and his work as an artistic subject,” Goodfellow said.

For more information about the Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston, visit http://www.poeboston.org/.

Email Jeremy C. Fox at jeremycfox@gmail.com.
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