"Ed Wilson" {3-28-1928-1996}

Born in Baltimore,Maryland,he became interested in art as a child while recover from rheumatic fever.After serving in the U.S. army from 1943-1946,he studied painting at the University of Iowa eventually switched his focus to sculpture.After earning his M.A. degree from the University of Iowa,in 1953,Ed taught at North Carolina College (now North Carolina Central College)in Durham.There he met American sculptor William Zorach who became a lifelong friend and artistic influence.While in Durham,he was deeply involved in the civil rights moment.The influence of the movement is apparent in his subsequent works,including Minority Man,(1957,State University of New York,Bingamton)carved in red hickory wood,which depicts the elongated torso of a male figure,head turned upward,and hands clasped at his chest.It is attended to satirize a begging attitude,which,Ed felt,many people associate with minority groups.In 1964,Ed accepted an invitation to develop a studio art program at Harpur College of the State University of New York at Binghamton.He soon made chairman of the College's department of art and art history.An exhibition of his work at Harpur College helped him win a commission to design a park in downtown Bingamton honoring President John F.Kennedy.At the center of the triangular JFK Memorial Park,which was completed in 1969,a three- sided column rises.Bronze relief panels on the sides of the column,entitled The Seven Seals of Silence,depict the way which people refuse to participate or take an active interest in solving the problems f our time.A panel called the Conformists,for example,portrays,those who unquestioningly accepted prevailing attitudes.The JFK Memorial Park won critical praise for its moving departure from traditional memorial sculpture.Ed's Second Genesis (1996-1971) is displayed at Lake Clifton High School Baltimore,Maryland.It is a work in multiple pieces,featuring large aluminum blocks that display impressions of full-sized,robot-like human figures.This work offers commentary on the consequences of an increasingly mechanized society.Ed's stainless steel & bronze Portrait of Ralph Ellison (1974-1975,Ralph Ellison Library,Oklahoma) commemorates the author of The Invisible Man (1952),who inspired Ed during the civil rights movement.