Page 32 - The Hunt - Winter 2022

EDITOR’S NOTE
The Bronze Age
ihe battered city of Chester might seem like an odd location for a place that turns out timeless works of art. But while Laran Bronze Fine Art Foundry & Studio isn’t much to look
at on the outside, it’s what happens on the inside that counts. Where Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company once manufactured tankers and warships, the Welker family has been making magic for almost 40 years—bronzes imbued with craftsmanship, skill and innovation.
One of the most high-profile Laran Bronze projects was a major installation for Washington, D.C.’s World War II Memorial in 2004. Sculptor Ray Kaskey worked with the Laran team to cast eight eagles, each bird sitting atop an 18-foot column. The combined weight of each eagle and column: a whopping 9,000 pounds. The foundry
also cast 24 bronze reliefs and two 10-foot wreaths weighing 5,000 pounds each.
“It’s always amazed me that most people have no idea about this hidden, glowing gem,” says Jim Graham, who produced the gorgeous images for this month’s feature. “I remember driving through that part of Chester thinking what a shame it was to see this crumbling city and so many buildings sitting abandoned. When we finally arrived at Laran, I was struck by the opportunities in front of me—and I continue to
be. I’m reminded over and over by the work W. Eugene Smith did in
Pittsburgh with his imagery of the steelworkers and mill workers there. I kept trying to find that aesthetic.”
For Graham, Laran Bronze is like a giant puzzle to be solved.
“There are so many bits and pieces throughout the foundry—pieces of sculpture waiting to be put together or pieces left out of final works. It’s a place where you could find almost anything your imagination might come up with,” he says. “Before I start making imagery, I look at the entirety of what’s happening before me. The Laran space was the perfect stage for me to put it all in context.”
Hobart Rowland Editor-in-Chief
Architecture | Comprehensive Property Design
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6 THE HUNT MAGAZINE winter 2022-23
ED WILLIAMS