This story by Mary Henrichs originally appeared in The Vidette-Messenger on April 15, 1978.
Caritas. The Latin word for “charity.”
Sculptor Fred Frey likes the sound of the Latin word. It reminds him of our classical heritage. And his sculpture sits in front of a neoclassical building.
Five fountains currently being installed along the west side of Caritas will provide a formal approach to the Porter County Courthouse, Frey believes.
And the sculpture, itself, incorporates a variety of symbols which Frey feels were appropriate to the nation’s Bicentennial – the butterfly, the phoenix, the eagle and a guardian shield.
Two wings of the sculpture seem especially like those of a butterfly, the traditional symbol of resurrection and new life for both Christians and the American Indian.
Frey said the center pole of Caritas has the contour of a butterfly’s antennae and the top can be seen as the head of a bird.
The bird’s head in combination with the wings evokes for him the rebirth symbol of the phoenix and the flight of the eagle.
The third wing of the sculpture is a shield form with its outer edge curved like an archer’s bow.
This shape is in keeping with the tradition of putting guardian figures outside public buildings and Frey said he was careful to place the shield wing at a right angle to the courthouse doors.
Asked about his reaction to the public furor over Caritas, Frey said he believes people will eventually like the sculpture. “As it becomes familiar, it will grow on them,” he said, adding that some people have told him this already has happened with them.
He believes the work cannot be understood immediately. People ask, “What’s it for? What’s it all about?” without giving themselves a chance to appraise it, he believes.
Frey feels that citizens will begin to appreciate the sculpture when pleasant weather allows them to walk around it, to see it from many angles, and to sit beside it at the edge of the surrounding pool.
Frey designed the sculpture at the request of the Porter County Bicentennial Committee and under sponsorship of the County Arts Commission.
The $43,000 required to construct and place the sculpture was in the form of private funds raised by an ad hoc committee headed by Joseph W. Bibler, Northern Indiana Bank and Trust Co. president.
Janet Sullivan, arts commission president, said Bethlehem Steel Corp. donated the steel for the sculpture and “Fred Frey never got one cent” for his work.
The commission donated the final $2,000 which put the fundraising campaign over the top, Mrs. Sullivan said. That amount was one-third of the non-profit organization’s resources.
Frey believes very little tax money will be needed to maintain the sculpture site. Power for the fountain lights and pumps “won’t be expensive” and water in the pool and fountains will be recycled.
Caritas will be dedicated May 7 (1978) in conjunction with a forum on “Public Art and Porter County” to be conducted May 6.
People and cities are not static, Frey observed. “Who knows? Maybe in 100 years nobody will want to change the sculpture.”