CANNIZZO, Phillip
ISBN 978-1-923763-75-3
HARDCOVER
ISBN 978-1-923763-76-0
EBOOK
From Sicily to Caulfield
This book tells the story of how seven life-size bronze figures came to live in the most popular park in the Melbourne suburb of Caulfield. As nothing substantial has so far been written about the installation, the many locals who enjoy the park have no idea about the origin of these bronze figures. Nor has the art world taken note of this major public sculpture.
To this day there is not a foundry in Australia capable of casting a life-size bronze figure in a single molten bronze pour. But a determined sculptor had the half-mad idea of building his own infrastructure, capable of handling moulds weighing up to 3 tons, to create these figures. The book is also a memoir of the ten-year-old boy who migrated from Sicily to Melbourne.
About the Author
PHILLIP CANNIZZO WAS BORN in April 1945 in the Medieval town of Licodia Eubea in Sicily, where he first experienced the wonder of sculpture. He migrated to Australia in 1956, and soon took on various jobs, including wedding photography, factory work, and bookkeeping. He attended University Secondary College night school and was awarded a studentship to become a secondary art teacher, and a subsequent scholarship for further study at RMIT.
His graduate exhibition earned high praise from Leonard French and Clifford Last, which led to his first one-man show in 1971 at the prestigious Rudy Komon Gallery in Sydney. He completed
postgraduate studies in sculpture at RMIT in 1973. While teaching full-time at different high schools in Victoria, he worked on the Caulfield Park commission and exhibited at the Australian Galleries in Melbourne in 1974 and 1981. His work is represented in private and public collections.
He joined with other notable artists in contributing a chapter to
the anthology, 52 Views of Rudy Komon, 1999. ed., Robert Raymond.
Beagle press: Sydney pp 61-64.
