Currents
July 2018
3
Barefoot Mailman
T
he Barefoot Legend Con-
tinues.
The City of Pompano Beach
issued a Call to Artists requesting
submissions from qualified artists
to create a bronze sculpture of
the Barefoot Mailman to be
located on the Hillsboro Inlet
Bridge. The Selection/Evaluation
Committee included representa-
tives from the Engineering Divi-
sion, Development Services
Department, the Project Architect,
representatives of the Public Art
Committee, and the consultant
currently preparing the Public Art
Master Plan.
The top ranking maquette was
submitted by Mario Chiodo. The
selection
was
unanimously
endorsed by the Public Art Com-
mittee (Memo #14-038). Mario
Chiodo has completed approxi-
mately 30 bronze figurative sculp-
tures, including many monumen-
tal sized works.
The traditional image of the
Barefoot Mailman is drawn from
the 1940s series of murals
depicting the Legend of the Bare-
foot Mailman, James Edward
Hamilton. The panel studies for
the murals are part of the Smith-
sonian American Art Collection
and the murals adorn the West
Palm Beach Post Office. Since
the 1940s, this painting has been
repeated several times including
sculptures that are located in
front of the Town of Hillsboro
Beach City Hall, at the Hillsboro
Inlet Coast Guard Station, in the
Town of Hypoluxo, and as part of
the signage for the former Bare-
foot Mailman Motel. The selec-
tion committee was seeking a
new vision of the Mailman for
such a prominent location on the
renovated Hillsboro Inlet Bridge
in order to differentiate it from the
many other typical examples
found in the region.
Mario Chiodo has envisioned
a fresh and new iconic image for
the bridge.
Addicted
TV Guide credits surfing inno-
vator Albert "Rabbit" Kekai with
saying "Once you get the sand
between your toes, you can
never leave the beach." The con-
cept has aided Florida for cen-
turies. It has allowed investors
and dreamers, conmen and bro-
ken men to recreate themselves
and sell the siren of the beach.
That continues to be true in the
21st Century. But life in Florida in
the 19th Century was not so easy
as today. The major difference
being man's ability to drain the
moisture from and cool the air
inside buildings.
During the late 19th Century
continued on page 5 >
S TOP Y OUR
W INDOW L EAK P ROBLEMS
Be
Hu Prepa
re
rr
Fi x
you icane d for t
r W Sea he
NO indow son
W! Lea
ks
Dried out gaskets and window stripping will cause window leaks.
I have the proper window stripping to repair all types of windows.
I also do Screening, Wrol-up Repair and Sliding Glass Doors.
E
FRE ATES
M
I
EST
C ALL
P ATRICK
Cell No. 954-829-4348
[email protected]
FPL
Independent
Participating
Contractor
3621 Washington Street • Hollywood, FL 33021