Stefanie Rocknak’s “Poe Returning to Boston” was recently unveiled to the public at Poe Square in Boston. The area was dedicated to the legendary author in 2009, to honor Edgar Allen Poe in the city he was born. Rocknak’s portrayal of Poe shows him walking towards the house his parents were living in when he was born.
Rocknak has been sculpting since 1987, and originally started working with wood. “I like the detail that I can get out of the wood, and the finish.”
She also considers the economic value of working with wood, especially when making non-commission pieces.
On what inspires her as an artist, Rocknak says she is inspired by the human figure. Her creations are more stylized, though, because she “prefers not to sacrifice composition or emotive power for the sake of realism.”
Rocknak said she hasn’t kept track of how many sculptures she’s made, but says she can spend up to one thousand hours on a life size wooden piece. She adds that reductive sculpting can tend to be slower than additive sculpting.
“It’s pretty hard to take back a mistake when you are working with reductive material.”
Rocknak designed the statue for the Poe Foundation of Boston, who wanted the sculpture to belong to Boston. With that guideline in mind, Rocknak considered the landmarks closest to Poe Square when designing.
“For instance, the frog pond and old train station are located behind the Poe sculpture, and the house where his family lived is located in front of it.”
The sculpture of Poe depicts him walking towards his family’s home with a trunk full of papers. A raven is perched to his right, which is undoubtedly his most notable symbol throughout all of his work. Rocknak put in these details in order to “capture Poe’s creative energy.”
The statue appeared to be a hit amongst Bostonians, as dozens crowded Poe Square to see its unveiling. Poet Robert Pinsky, and a representative of Mayor Walsh, were present at the unveiling. Spectators took turns posing for pictures with the bronze, immortalized Poe statue.
“Poe Returning to Boston” currently sits in Poe Square at the intersection of Boylston Street and Charles Street South.