The sculpture was commissioned to commemorate the life and work of the late Tillie K. Fowler, who served as Jacksonville's first female City Council President from 1982-1985 and later served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
A plaque at the base of the statue reads:
In memory of the life and work of
U.S. Rep. Tillie Kidd Fowler
1942 - 2005
A dedicated public servant
whose accomplishments as a community volunteer and
public official are as significant as the integrity,
civility and grace with which she achieved them.
A tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform
and a leader in strengthening America's military
both during her service in the U.S. House of Representatives
and in the years following as a private citizen.
Showing the Way
Brower Hatcher, Artist
2009
Stainless Steel, Powder Coating, Aluminum
The three orbs represent the levels of energy of Tillie's spirit:
Family, Community and Country
Commissioned by the Art in Public Places Program
City of Jacksonville, Florida
The following information about the sculpture is from a Florida Times-Union news article:
"Brower Hatcher describes his abstract stainless steel sculpture now being installed on the Northbank Riverwalk as “very futuristic.”
Which might make it seem an unusual choice as a memorial to the late Tillie Fowler, the long-time Jacksonville community leader who served eight years in Congress.
But the members of the committee selecting a sculptor wanted something different, something less traditional than a bust, said Ginny Myrick, who served with Fowler on Jacksonville’s City Council and at the law firm Holland & Knight.
One of those on the committee who was most outspoken in favor of Hatcher’s ideas was Fowler’s husband, Buck Fowler, said former City Council member Elaine Brown.
Hatcher’s was unanimously selected from among 46 proposals. Now he and his crew are installing the 25-foot tall, 4,500-pound stainless steel piece, titled Showing the Way, on the Riverwalk behind the YMCA. It will include light emitting diodes ( LEDs) that will illuminate the sculpture at night.
“It’s a great piece,” said Melody Bishop, the Jacksonville architect who designed the Northbank Riverwalk. “It’s a monumental tree in the middle of a forest that isn’t there yet.”
Bishop said she hopes that real oak trees will eventually be planted near the metaphorical oak tree, providing shade to those who visit the Tillie K. Fowler Memorial.
The choice of a metaphorical oak tree to honor Fowler echoes a eulogy delivered by the Rev. Barnum McCarty during Fowler’s funeral in 2005. He compared her to a tree with deep family roots and branches extending out into her community.
The sculpture consists of three orbs, one inside another, atop a base. Those three orbs represent three aspects of Fowler’s life, Myrick said, her commitment to family, to community and to country.
Hatcher said he was inspired by Fowler’s “ability to inspire others.”
“She was like a magnet among people,” he said. “I hope this memorial acts like a people magnet.”
The 66-year-old artist, who started as an engineering student at Vanderbilt University, said an important early influence was Sir Anthony Caro, with whom he studied at St. Martins School of Art in London. Caro had started a traditional sculpture, then began in the late 1950s making abstract metal sculpture using industrial parts.
Currently the artistic director of the Mid-Ocean Studio in Providence, R.I., Hatcher has built about 40 public sculptures in his career, some of which can be seen on his Web site, www.midoceanstudio.com.
For the Fowler project, he researched her life and conceived an idea. He developed in “sketches and doodles” on 5-by-7 index cards, then used a computer to create a model. The actual fabrication of the sculpture in his studio took about six months, Hatcher said.
The memorial, which was initiated by Brown, City Council president at the time of Fowler’s death, is a partnership among Jacksonville’s Art in Public Places Program, Holland & Knight, The Haskell Co. and Swisher International. The cost of the project is about $120,000.
Fowler died unexpectedly at the age of 62 in March 2005. At the time, she was a partner in Holland & Knight, dividing her time between Jacksonville and Washington.
A pioneer most of her life, in 1989 she became the first woman to serve as Jacksonville’s City Council president.
She served in the U.S. House from 1992 to 2000, then honored her pledge to support term limits and declined to seek re-election."