PEOPLE IN AMERICA -- ANTONIO TOBIAS MENDEZ (TOBY)
((Banner: Bringing History to Life))
((Executive Producer: Marsha James))
((Camera: Kaveh Rezaei))
((Map: Knoxville, Maryland))
((NATS))
((TOBY MENDEZ, ARTIST/AMERICAN SCULPTOR))
I get lost in my work. I think that that’s probably what sucked me in in the beginning, is that you can be in your studio, working on a sculpture or a painting or a drawing, and just completely get lost and lose track of time. The days fly by like minutes.
I went to the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, which is part of the Museum of the Art Institute.
One of the biggest drivers for me was fear. Fear of not being able to make a living at this, and so from day one in Chicago, I would start seeking out people who were successful at what they did. Sculpture and any art form is about failure. You’re constantly attempting to do something you don’t have the technical skill, and just like a dancer, you have to repeat, repeat, repeat until you finally get over that particular hurdle. And in particular sculpture, because it takes a great deal of skill sets, is this that you get it over time. It takes years to kind of get all of those tools in your toolbox.
When I create a sculpture, initially it starts with research, and then from the research I can kind of get a visual in my mind of what I want to create. And then once I narrow that down, I start working in clay and start sculpting the figure in clay. Then that goes to a foundry for bronze casting, and the final product is that bronze, which I usually have to install.
I’ve done public work, I think, over 16-17 states. The Thurgood Marshall Memorial, which is in Annapolis, Maryland. The sculptures for Camden Yards of the Baltimore Orioles baseball players. I have a large concentration of my work that’s focused on civil rights. So most recently, I created a monument to Maggie Lena Walker for Richmond, Virginia. I’ve created a monument to Major Taylor who is the first African American cyclist, world champion, up in Worcester, Massachusetts. There’s about 40 projects like this that I have spread out across the country.
Part of the sickness of what I do is that you’re constantly trying to be Michelangelo, and you never get there. Each one, you go forth with kind of the idea that you could hit that mark. That’s probably the most satisfying thing about what I do, is that creating the Maggie Walker for the family and to see their joy of a project that they have longed for, and to know that we’ve done that together. It’s wonderful. I make really great friends.
One of the beauties of the work that I do, especially the public work, is it’s a constant education. I’m learning about history of people I’d never heard of and experiences I’ve never heard of. But also, you know, I’m constantly curious about things, and certainly being an artist is about always learning, seeing something new for the first time.
((NATS))