[This article originally appeared in the December 2023 issue of the South Baltimore Peninsula Post community newspaper.]
On or about Friday, October 20, 2023, several hundred pounds of love appeared, unannounced, on a vacant lot at the corner of E. Fort Avenue and William Street. The arrival has sparked joy and some bewilderment in the surrounding neighborhood due to the fact that it bears no indication of its origin. No one has claimed responsibility for what appears to be a random act of art.
The South Baltimore Peninsula Post immediately launched an investigation into this mysterious gift to the community. Here are the facts:
The arrival is in the form of a vertical steel structure measuring 47 inches long by 9.75 inches wide and 38.5 inches tall. It stands securely on a steel base extending 7 inches along both sides of the length of the central structure. It is positioned diagonally 15 inches from where the two streets’ sidewalks intersect, standing on a grass-covered lot approximately 30 feet by 60 feet where a building numbered 200 E. Fort Avenue once stood.
The structure’s most distinctive feature is the word LOVE, cut from quarter-inch steel plate, adorning both sides of the top of the sculpture. One LOVE faces E. Fort Avenue; the other faces William Street. Each of the capital letters measures 15 inches tall. Between the two street-facing words is a series of nine steel plates of the same thickness, each half an inch apart, cut to represent the shape of the letters as they morph to the shape of the letter on the opposite side.
Two barely visible details at the base of the sculpture are notable. Each side of the base has one small flower, a pansy, growing out of one of several 5-inch squares cut through the steel. A few words engraved onto the base facing E. Fort Avenue – “To request removal write artaroundbaltimore@gmail.com” – indicates that the placement of the sculpture was not approved by the current property owner.
In searching for more information about the sculpture, the Peninsula Post posted several photos of the artwork on its social media accounts and shared them to multiple neighborhood Facebook groups. This investigation did not yield information about the creator of the sculpture, but it did elicit several comments from the community.
“I’ll give it about one week before somebody knocks it over,” said one person on Facebook. This prediction proved to be incorrect.
“I walked to see it in person recently,” wrote another commentator. “It is such a well-done piece of art. I hope its creator knows the value it adds to the neighborhood.”
The Peninsula Post also sent a query to the email address engraved on the base of the sculpture requesting an interview for this story. That request was turned down by the owner of the account, who replied that the LOVE artwork “is a reflection of our love for Baltimore. We are delighted by the positive response but wish to remain anonymous.” Subsequent emails from the Peninsula Post to this address were not answered.
Some social media commentators suggested that the creator could be longtime Baltimore metal artist Jonathan Maxwell, whose studio on Light Street is about two blocks from the LOVE sculpture. “Not so,” Maxwell said on November 29 when we visited the sculpture.
Maxwell was impressed by the work that went into the piece. Cutting the LOVE letters was likely done with a CNC (computer numerical control) plasma torch, he said, which can cut steel into a shape created by a computer-aided design program. That work could have been done locally by someone with the right equipment or purchased from a commercial firm. He estimated that the sculpture weighs in the vicinity of 500 pounds, which would have required a forklift or truck to place it there, he said.
The identity of the LOVE sculptor remains a mystery. It could be, Maxwell suggested, that SoBo now has its own Banksy, referring to the anonymous street artist based in England who has been active since the 1990s.
The Peninsula Post’s investigation into the origins of “LOVE” is continuing. Updates will be published in future issues. If you have any information about this phenomenal sculpture, please email it to editor@sobopost.org. – Steve Cole
UPDATE: On or about Sunday, February 11, 2024, the LOVE sculpture, which had been steadily rusting due to the weather and frequent visits by neighborhood dogs, inexplicably acquired a multi-colored coat of paint (see photos). The artistic mystery continues at the corner of E. Fort and William. – S.C.
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