SEATTLE — Jeff Day, a Whidbey Island artist, has a personal connection to 'The Boys in the Boat'.
"My father was number two in the boat. Charles Day was his name,” said Day, standing in front of one of the two cast bronze sculptures of the crew that he made. “I essentially did these pieces to honor my dad and the crew."
He started making the sculptures in 2015, long before the movie brought it to life.
"During the movie, I found myself crying in the movie. When I was working on the piece, I had that same feeling. A number of times when I was actually sculpting the pieces and thinking about the boys. And thinking about my dad, it was an emotional experience,” Day said.
Two sculptures of "The Boys" by Day are currently on display in the lobby of The Seattle Design Center, along with a 5-page letter written to Day’s mother by another one of ‘The Boys’, John White, when Charlie Day passed away back when Jeff was just 17. The letter inspired the art, and kept the memory of his father alive. Jeff Day read us his favorite passage from it, where White recalls Charlie Day using both determination and humor to pull the ragtag bunch of rowers into a whole bigger than their parts one day during practice.
"By the time we hit the Laurelhurst light, we had a crew. Charlie simply talked us into believing we were the best boat that had ever been put together. And we were from then on."
Jeff Day hopes whoever sees his work will recognize what made these nine friends – and his father – special.
"I hope they see the strength in the figures. That and can kind of see them as warriors that were going off to Berlin to defeat the Nazis. They're determined. Very determined to do it. And they did it."
To learn more about Jeff Day’s work or acquire one of his 1936 UW Crew pieces, contact Carol Anderson at carolanderson@arterrausa.com.
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