Stan Briney, noted sculptor, artist and author in the Bowie area, donated a sculpture to the Bowie Public Library which was presented last week.
Called “Nevermore, Nevermore,” Briney said his purpose in creating this sculpture was to capture and recreate a moment in time, which was described in Edgar Allen Poe’s, “The Raven,” published in 1845. Poe is considered one of the world’s greatest literary geniuses.
This statute is constructed entire of bronze metal. Briney explains the stark visual contract between the jet-black raven and the applied patine finish over the Athena Pallas bust that resembles marble is the result of careful and deliberate use of chemicals and heat. This finish was applied after the piece was cast in bronze.
At this “moment in time,” a young Poe is grieving over the sudden death of his love, Lenore. The pallid marble bust of the Greek goddess Athena Pallas sits just above Poe’s chamber door.
In the poem, the raven perches on his chamber door and begins his relentless tapping which awakens him. The bird then perches on the bust and stares down at Poe. In this mental state brought on by liquor and opium, he imagines the raven has come to comfort him. This assumption is quickly corrected as he writes.
Briney encourages people to read the poem for a complete understanding of Poe and this sculpture. The National Sculpture Society reviewed this creation in 2005 in New York City.
The artist is a member of the Texas and National Sculpture Societies.