The Seven Seals of Silence, (sculpture).

The Seven Seals of Silence, (sculpture).

Wilson, Ed, 1925-1996, sculptor.

Coleman, Clayton W., engineer.

Gillette, Robert Stone, fabricator.

McFarland-Johnson, engineering firm.

Unknown (New York, New York), founder.

Rock of Ages Corporation, fabricator.

M. Gleason & Sons, contractor.

Hagopian Steel Erector Company, contractor.

LeRoux Landscaping Company, landscape architect.

The Seven Seals of Silence, (sculpture).

John F. Kennedy Memorial, (sculpture).

Maimed and the Ignorant, (sculpture).

Conformists, (sculpture).

Uninspired, (sculpture).

Rejected, (sculpture).

Depraved, (sculpture).

Invisible, (sculpture).

Dead, (sculpture).

Reliefs: bronze; Base: granite.

7 reliefs. Overall: approx. H. 10 ft. x W. 2 ft. 3 in.; Foundation: approx. H. 3 3/4 in. x Diam. 7 ft. 1 in.

JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY/35TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES/OF AMERICA/BORN,MAY 29,1917/GRADUATED HARVARD UNIVERSITY/1940/AUTHOR OF 'WHY ENGLAND SLEPT'/AND 'PROFILES IN COURAGE'/SERVED/IN U.S. NAVY,1941-45/ELECTED U.S./REPRESENTATIVE 1946/ELECTED U.S./SENATOR 1952/ELECTED PRESIDENT/1960/CHAMPION OF THE NEW FRONTIER/FOUNDED THE ALLIANCE FOR PROGRESS/AND THE PEACE CORPS/ENCOURAGED THE/EXPLORATION OF SPACE/SOUGHT/HUMAN RIGHTS unsigned

An abstract sculpture honoring John F. Kennedy consists of seven bronze relief plaques attached to the sides of an angular granite base. The plaques, or "seals of silence," depict the evils of non-involvement in the struggles of life by showing abstract figures in various states of disease. The first seal, "The Maimed and the Ignorant," shows three isolated figures with a bulbous cloud overhead. The second seal shows three figures standing in separate compartments, isolated from one another, and is titled "The Conformists." "The Uninspired," depicts three figures squeezed into a tiny space, compressed into inactivity by a bulging force above and below.

The fourth seal is entitled "The Rejected." It shows three figures "out of equilibrium" with themselves and with other people. "The Depraved," the fifth seal, is meant to symbolize absolute negative involvement. The figures are contorted in powerful writhings of misdirected pleasure. The sixth seal, "The Invisible," shows six figures, all with their identities literally scooped out. Instead of bodies, there are merely molds for bodies, with one figure preparing to enter a new mold of non-existence. "The Dead" is the final plaque. It shows only blurred forms, in "the final involvement," with a body lying inert.

Homage -- Kennedy, John F.

Occupation -- Political -- President

Occupation -- Political -- Senator

State of Being -- Disabled -- Mute

State of Being -- Illness -- Wound

State of Being -- Emotion -- Pain

Allegory -- Quality -- Ignorance

State of Being -- Mood -- Desolation

State of Being -- Mood -- Laziness

State of Being -- Evil -- Lost

Allegory -- Quality -- Gluttony

Allegory -- Quality -- Vanity

State of Being -- Death

Outdoor Sculpture -- New York -- Binghamton

Sun Square, Corner of Chenango Street & Henry Street, Binghamton, New York

The artist designed the sculpture and Sun Square, also known as Kennedy Memorial Park. Both were funded in part by the $2,300 Kennedy Memorial Fund maintained by Binghamton's Sun-Bulletin newspaper. Money for the fund was contributed by local citizens. The project was a public-private initiative. A nearby plaque reads: THE SEVEN SEALS OF SILENCE/THIS MEMORIAL TO PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY, A MAN OF TOTAL/COMMITMENT, ERECTED IN 1968 AS A TRIBUTE FROM THE/PEOPLE OF THE SOUTHERN TIER, BROOME COUNTY, THE CITY OF/BINGHAMTON, AND THE SUN-BULLETIN./THE POET R.M. RITKE WROTE THAT LIFE COMES "...ONCE TO EACH/ONLY ONCE, ONCE AND NO MORE..."/THIS MEMORIAL SCULPTURE "THE SEVEN SEALS OF SILENCE"/DEPICTS THE EVILS OF MAN'S LACK OF COMMITMENT TO LIFE./ED WILSON 1968 JOSEPH W. ESWORTH: MAYOR 1966- JOHN J. BURNS: MAYOR 1958-1965/DAVID BERNSTEIN: PRES. SUN-BULLETIN FUND, INC./JOHN J. THOMPSON: COMMISSIONER, BINGHAMTON, N.Y. URBAN RENEWAL AGENCY/CLAYTON W. COLEMAN: CITY ENGINEER MCFARLAND-JOHNSON: CONSULTING ENGINEERS/GARBADE-GRUBHAM JOINT VENTURE; M. GLEASON & SONS: CONTRACTORS/ED WILSON: DESIGNER, SCULPTOR.

The relief plaques were cast in New York City. The Rock of Ages Company of Barre, Vermont under the direction of Robert Stone Gillette provided the granite base. The sculpture was installed by Hagopian Steel Erector Company. Landscaping was done by LeRoux Landscaping Company. IAS files contain articles from the Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, NY), Aug. 6, 1966, pg. 13; July 1, 1966, pg. 5; June 30, 1966; the Press (Binghamton, NY), Aug. 5, 1969, pg. 3; the Evening Press (Binghamton, NY), Nov. 22, 1982, pg. 2B.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, New York survey, 1994.

Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, NY), July 1, 1996.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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