FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) – A mock-up of the city’s Singing River music sculpture has been unveiled, and work on building the 20-foot aluminum depiction of a musician will get underway soon.
The committee that raised money for the work selected Eric Nubbe, a graduate student at the University of Alabama. Nubbe said he will build the aluminum sculpture at the university’s facilities in Tuscaloosa.
“I see a lot that is mediocre,” said Libby Jordan, superintendent of the city’s Arts and Museums Department. “This is good.”
The abstract work depicts a trumpet player, which is a nod to Florence native W.C. Handy, the Father of the Blues. Florence has a museum devoted to Handy that soon will be operated by the Handy Foundation.
Florence, Alabama, is the birthplace of blues musician W.C. Handy and home to his namesake music festival, being held this year July 22-31. (Contributed photo)
The sculpture will be erected on the west side of South Court Street at the Bluff Street intersection. It is the site of the former State Troopers post.