Syracuse-based sculptor, Carolyn D. Palmer, worked on a new statue of comedian Lucille Ball, which was unveiled in Celoron near Jamestown on Saturday.
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A new statue of Lucille Ball has been unveiled in the late actress’ hometown to replace one that was dubbed “Scary Lucy”.
The crowd applauded as Palmer and Schrecengost unveiled the bronze statue, which shows Ball in a polka-dot dress.
As for the brand new Lucille Ball Statue, the official unveiling of the Statue by artist Carolyn Palmer will be at 11:30 a.m.in Lucille Ball Memorial Park.
After a Facebook campaign to get rid of the statue, Poulin apologized in a letter to The Hollywood Reporter for what he called “by far my most unsettling sculpture”.
Palmer made sure Lucy had two-and-a-half inches of heels and hair to keep her true to life.
Palmer was unanimously selected from a national competition of more than 65 sculptors to work on the project, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Celoron Mayor Scott Schrecengost said he’s hoping the work, which he’s seen, puts to rest “a very bad story that started a year ago”. Yes, it’s out with the old Scary Lucy statue and in with… the Even More Scary Lucy Statue.
“You have to feel the person you’re sculpting or else it doesn’t come true”, she said, going on to note how hard it is to produce a three-dimensional version of such a famous face that everyone agrees is accurate. As such, it is a remarkable and a successful sculpture, just not one that shows Lucille Ball when she looked her loveliest.
“Her little eyelashes are just handsome, they look real”, said Sue Rola from St. Louis, Missouri.
“I wanted to feel her, so when I was in my studio working on her, I could feel her spirit and hopefully bring her out”, said Palmer, who has previously sculpted life-size figures of Pope Francis, Thomas Jefferson and other notable figures.
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After an offer from Poulin for a free redo was declined, a selection committee looked at dozens of sculptors before going with Palmer – best-known for her Pope Francis sculpture, created for his visit past year to NY.
