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There are Dozen of Me Afloat
A collaborative installation by Lewis Coburn and Mark Stockton
Exhibition:  Democratic Vistas: Whitman, Body and Soul
Stedman Gallery, Rutgers University, Camden NJ (May - Dec 2019)
press release
 
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"There are a dozen of me afloat" (promotional image)
Exhibition:  Democratic Vistas: Whitman, Body and Soul
Stedman Gallery, Rutgers University, 2019 
Photo: Jaime Alvarez

 

"There are a dozen of me afloat" (Installation View)
Exhibition:  Democratic Vistas: Whitman, Body and Soul
Stedman Gallery, Rutgers University, 2019 
Photo: Jaime Alvarez


 


Whitman’s Death Casts (from 1892)
Fiberglass reinforced plaster on custom aluminum stands,
displayed on a slab of concrete atop custom aluminum saw horses, 2019
Installation: "There are a dozen of me afloat" Stedman Gallery, Rutgers University, 2019
Photo: Jaime Alvarez

  NOTE: The death casts displayed were originally made by Thomas Eakins and Samuel Murray in 1892 on the day of Whitman’s passing. These replicas were based on 3D scans made by Mark Stockton from the original objects which are housed in the special collections libraries of Harvard and Princeton. The head is in the collection of the Firestone Library at Princeton University and the hands and chest are in the collection of Houghton Library at Harvard University.  Colburn taught Stockton how to 3D scan the objects and this became the origin of this collaborative work. Stockton’s 3D scans were used to carve replicas of the death casts from wood, which were then molded and cast in plaster, returning the death casts to their original material.  


“Death’s Door”
Micron Pen on Arches mounted on Custom panel, 2019
Installation : "There are a dozen of me afloat" Stedman Gallery, Rutgers University, 2019

 

NOTE: This print was Whitman’s inspiration for his tomb after 1881
After an engraving ~1813 based on William Blake’s painting, ~1808

 

 

Whitman’s Rocking Chair
Reclaimed pine and caning, 2019
Installation: "There are a dozen of me afloat" Stedman Gallery, Rutgers University, 2019
Photo: Jaime Alvarez


  NOTE: This chair is based on one of Whitman’s rocking chairs from his front parlor at the Walt Whitman House in Camden. The chair was constructed via a combination of digital and manual processes. The chair arms and hands were carved on a CNC router, based on Stockton’s 3D scans, while all other elements of the chair were manually constructed. The chair was caned by hand with a herringbone pattern by Paul Lotkowski.  

 

Whitman’s Rocking Chair (Detail)
Reclaimed pine and caning, 2019
Installation: "There are a dozen of me afloat" Stedman Gallery, Rutgers University, 2019
Photo: Jaime Alvarez

 

“Death’s Door”
Micron Pen on Arches mounted on Custom panel, 2019
Installation : "There are a dozen of me afloat" Stedman Gallery, Rutgers University, 2019

 

Whitman’s Fireplace
Poplar, lauan, plywood, and bondo, 2019.
Installation: "There are a dozen of me afloat" Stedman Gallery, Rutgers University, 2019
Photo: Jaime Alvarez

  NOTE: This replica is based on the fireplace in the parlor of the Walt Whitman House in Camden.
It was constructed based on photographs and measurements taken at the Whitman House.
 

 


Walt Whitman’s Tomb
(Over the Fireplace)
(At the time of his funeral, 1892)
38” x 40”

Walt Whitman at 36
(On the Fireplace mantle- Drawing on Left)
(from an image from 1855)
8” x 10”


Walt Whitman at 72
(On the Fireplace mantle- Drawing on Right)
(After Thomas Eakins and Samuel Murray, 1891)
8” x 10”

Whitman Busts
(2 total, left is after Samuel Murray and the right is after Charles Bregler)
Bass wood. displayed on top of the fireplace, 2019
~13" Tall on a 6" square base

 

  NOTE: These sculptures of Whitman were originally made by the artists Samuel Murray and Charles Bregler. Both of whom were both past students of Thomas Eakins. These replicas were based on 3D scans made by Mark Stockton and Lewis Colburn from the original objects which are housed in the collections of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. The 3D scans were used to carve replicas of the death casts from wood.  

 

Whitman’s Fireplace- (Detail with Drawing of Walt and Harry)
Round Drawing in the Fireplace:
Harry Stafford and Walt Whitman
(image from 1878)
~6” round

Whitman’s Fireplace

Poplar, lauan, plywood, and bondo, 2019.
Installation: "There are a dozen of me afloat" Stedman Gallery, Rutgers University, 2019
Photo: Jaime Alvarez

 

Walt Whitman’s Tomb
(Over the Fireplace)
(At the time of his funeral, 1892)
38” x 40"

 

 

Walt Whitman at 36
(On the Fireplace mantle- Drawing on Left)
(from an image from 1855)
8” x 10"

 

Walt Whitman at 72
(On the Fireplace mantle- Drawing on Left)
(from an image from 1855)
8” x 10"

 

"There are a dozen of me afloat" (Installation View)
Exhibition:  Democratic Vistas: Whitman, Body and Soul
Stedman Gallery, Rutgers University, 2019 
Photo: Jaime Alvarez

 

 
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