Francis the Praying Mantis
Francis the Praying Mantis is the name of a sculpture depicting a praying mantis. The sculpture is located on the East Meadow in front of the Staten Island Children's Museum, on the grounds of Sailors' Snug Harbor, in Staten Island, New York.[1]
The original sculpture, built in 1991, was constructed from wood. It was designed and built by New York artist Robert Ressler.[2]
In 2011, the original was demolished due to water damage and, ironically, insect infestation. Francis was redesigned, fabricated and donated by self-taught Staten Island artist Lenny Prince. Francis "2.0" is crafted from over 50 pieces of sculpted metals, including sheet metal and stainless steel, various sized muffler pipes, re-bar and other found metal objects. The realistic multi-lensed eyes are crafted from catalytic converters.[3]
References
- Deborah E. Young (2011-11-13). "Woe is mantis: Landmark sculpture at Children's Museum loses its head". Staten Island Advance. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
- Michael Brenson (1991-06-26). "Cityful of Sculpture Under the Sky". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
- Staten Island Advance (2011-10-14). "Francis the Praying Mantis". Staten Island Advance. Retrieved 2011-12-05.