Painted Rocks, some history

Hello to All!
     The excitement this week has been to find some of the former Amsterdam High School students who worked on the original project with me in 1997. There was an article in the Amsterdam Recorder June 14, 2011, yesterday, and it prompted a call from two of the graduates who went on the marry each other and settle in Amsterdam.  Wow. The grads will assist us with the project from now until unveiling and appear at the unveiling ceremony in Riverlink Park. We have old pictures of them and I hope they don't mind our using them.

My purpose today is to give some background and history of this project as well as history on the original Painted Rocks feature.

     To make a very long story short, I met then Assemblyman Paul Tonko at a Hospice fundraiser in 1996.  Mr. Tonko hired me shortly after to design a sculptural focal point for what would become Riverlink Park.  I was at a loss as to what to recommend, and as is my practice, I went to the Schenectady Library and spent lots of time looking at books. I was into Katherine Strobeck's book "Mohawk Valley Happenings" when I turned a page and saw for the first time an image of the Painted Rocks of Amsterdam. The author's photo was at the back of the book and I called information and was able to reach her that day. I met with Katherine, former Montgomery County Historian, and gained a great deal of knowledge about the Painted Rocks.  I owe a great debt to Katherine Strobeck, who passed away in 2002. It seemed it would be necessary for me to spend some hours (many) at the New York State archives in Albany.

     I have all research here in my office from months at the NYS archives in Albany, meetings with the State archaeologist, site visits at high and low water times, and on and on.

     Phil Lord was state archaeologist when I was introduced to the project, helped me immensely, and before he retired he wrote up his info for their website.  Here is the link to that info. www.nysm.nysed.gov/research_collections/research/history/paintedrocks

I was on the phone one day with Mr. Lord after he had been kind enough to give me copies of photos of his site visits to the original rocks when he said "Alice, I don't think you realize that the rocks are just 200 feet from the park"  We were all amazed at this discovery.

 

In short, the Painted Rocks of Amsterdam was a Mohawk Indian rock painting dating back to at least 1750.  From Gov. DeWitt Clinton's journal on a boat trip up the Mohawk river in 1810:

 

     ..."About 16 miles from Schenectady on the North shore of the river we came upon a curious specimen of Indian painting....it had been there upwards of half a century".

 

I have copies here of eye witness accounts

I have copies here of eye witness accounts of the paintings and the rock formation, which was known to all in the area and  can be seen from the border of Riverlink Park. I also have info that the painting had at one time a canoe with seven warriors in it, which is not the version we are making. That account said that it had been a war party of which seven warriors did not return.  Our version believes it was a hunting party going west.

 

The image I am working from, which I have secured the copyright to, is a watercolor from 1836 by Mohawk Valley artist Rufus Grider.
The Rufus Grider manuscripts are hand written and lushly illustrated volumes of material produced by Grider. A recent small folio of Grider's images appeared on Antiques Road Show and was valued at I think $15,000.  His work is tremendously interesting.

     While photographing Grider's work on the rocks which is stored in the archives I was invited to a private home, one of three oldest in the valley, to photograph the owner's Grider watercolor of the Painted Rocks.  What a find!

 

The Indians often made artwork on trees and rocks to note expeditions, events, battles, etc.

Sorry about that placement of me at the site taking a rubber mold of the rock texture.

The original rock now is under the river 99% of the year.  The top ledge was sheared off for the railroad bed years ago.  You can walk right up to it once a year when they have the dams in the right position- I went in April and was able to take molds from the orig. rock.  What luck, have pics of all. No paint is visible, of course, now.

 

     This is so much more of a story than the above.  I do think it will become a serious tourist attraction for the state.  After all, the cave paintings at Lascaux, France were reproduced next to the original site because foot traffic was destroying the art.  So there is a precedent for what we are doing.

Much much more to tell.  I will attach the watercolor and the shot of my model.  We have this 36 feet long in the studio now awaiting sandblasting in prep for applic. of cement.
     We are making it of manufactured rock, essentially a cement like coating over steel structure.  Delivery of structure to Riverlink Park in Amsterdam is set for August 5. as of this week.  We will have at least several days onsite to apply cement, imbed rock textures and figures, and paint and seal.  Unveiling will be a big event.  Both the Mayor (Ann Thane) and the NYS Congressman Paul Tonko, will surely be present.  Paul and I conceived the original project in 1997 and it was unanimously approved by the City Council only to have the project halted when digging exposed toxic coal tar.  So it is so much a feel good story-

a Brownfield made into a big plus for the City!

 

Thank you to everyone who is following our journey.

Model for large re-creation.

                                                                                               Copyright Manzi 1996

And a special thank you to Andrea Escobar Melendez and Eddy Melendez for being in touch.

More soon! Write me at Manzisculpture@aol.com