Sabin Howard: Sculptor of the WWI Memorial and Visionary for American Art

The Decline of Figurative Art and the Rise of Modernism

• 💡 The art world shifted away from figurative tradition after World War I due to societal upheaval and a loss of faith in divine order, leading to nihilism and a modern era where artists dictate what constitutes art.
• 🎭 This shift alienated the general public, who began to view much of contemporary art as incomprehensible or "crap," as exemplified by Duchamp's urinal.
• 🚀 Sabin Howard believes we are entering a new American cultural renaissance, rebuilding sacred and traditional values and re-evaluating what to carry forward.

Sabin Howard's Artistic Journey

• 🛠️ Howard's path to sculpting began unconventionally at age 19, after dropping out of college and working as a cabinet maker, realizing he had a brain he wasn't using.
• 🎨 Inspired by the visual splendor of Italy and the possibility of self-determination in America, he pursued art at the Philadelphia College of Art, starting with the book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain."
• 🏛️ His early artistic aspirations were rooted in the Greco-Roman and Italian Renaissance traditions, focusing on the male nude, before he realized the need to create art that was more universally understood.

The Creation of the World War I Memorial

• 🏆 Howard won a competition in 2016 to create the 60-foot bronze sculpture featuring 38 figures, a process that involved significant bureaucratic hurdles and opposition from modernists.
• 🏛️ The project faced delays due to the Commission of Fine Arts, which was initially hesitant to approve traditional figurative art, and a battle over the park's landscape design.
• 😷 The COVID-19 pandemic further complicated the process, requiring the shipping of clay models internationally and adapting to remote sculpting and casting.

Significance and Impact of the Memorial

• 🇺🇸 Described as a sculpture "for We the People," the memorial honors not just WWI soldiers but all who have served, symbolizing unification, national pride, and the history that binds a country.
• 🧠 Howard captured the energy of real veterans, including those suffering from trauma, conveying a message of heroism, self-responsibility, and the sacredness of human life.
• 🌟 The memorial serves as a universal tribute to the human journey through conflict, relevant from WWI to contemporary veterans.

Future Projects and the Vision for American Art

• 🗽 Howard is now focused on his next ambitious project, the Grand Liberty Arch Project, a monument celebrating American freedom for the nation's 250th birthday, intended to be a destination monument like Mount Rushmore.
• 🏞️ He has moved to Salt Lake City to pursue this vision, seeking to create art that elevates the human spirit and unites Americans around their shared history and values.
• 💡 Howard believes that human beings matter and can have a positive influence, emphasizing the importance of building and creating as a counterpoint to destruction, and hopes to inspire the next generation with art that is universally understood and spiritually uplifting.