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(C) CROWN PACKING
CO.
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Giant Sculpture
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Outdoor Art Gallery on The Farm
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 We proudly
display giant sculptures by local artist John Cerney, who was
assisted on occasion by Dong Sun Kim.
These sculptures
are a tribute to the hard-working people employed in the farming
community of the Salinas Valley. Without them, our country
would not be blessed with such abundance.
 The
four figures next to the produce stand depict men harvesting
iceberg lettuce. The man standing is a foreman with a weight
scale. He insures quality and directs work flow. He occasionally
weighs a box to keep box weights at a desired level. The two
men with knives are trimmers. Their job is to select and cut
suitable heads of lettuce. The man bending over the Bunny box
is a packer. He picks up lettuce cut by the trimmers and packs
them into the box, three at a time and twenty-four per box.
Two trimmers and one packer typically work as a team (known
as a trio) in packing lettuce.
 Moving
away from the stand, we next encounter two more figures.
 The
kneeling man, holding a handful of dirt, is the farmer. It
is his job to oversee the entire farming operation, from planting
to water, fertilizer and pest control. He must coordinate everyone's
work and thus communicate with all employees, outside service
providers, government inspectors and regulators, buyers and
sellers. More than anyone, he has to know how to do everything
to insure that all aspects of his complex and fast-paced farming
business are in order.
 Next
to him stands his irrigator, the man who directs the watering
program on a farm. A good irrigator must be handy with a shovel,
familiar with tractors, pumps, wells and other equipment, understand
water flow, and now, increasingly, work with newer technologies
such as drip irrigation tape, water filters and fertilizer
injectors.
 Facing
The Farm entrance stands a man holding a cut head of lettuce.
This figure represents an old harvesting supervisor of much
experience, going back to the early years of fresh produce
in the West. He coordinated harvesting between the farmer,
the salesmen and the labor force. He judged when a field was
ready for harvest, estimated the quality and the quantity a
field would provide, and continuously provided this information
in a timely manner to others. He, as well as many of the laborers,
followed the lettuce harvest from Salinas to southern California
and Arizona over the course of a typical year.
 The
last figures, closest to the Salinas River and the bridge,
represent thinners. These women thin out the extra plants to
provide enough space for the remaining plants to reach proper
size. This is vital for every lettuce field grown from seed.
All the art
figures are based on actual people who have worked hard at
their respective jobs in Salinas Valley agriculture. Each job
requires a great deal of skill and experience. Each occupation
is integral to the success of farming. Our display is a way
of saluting the men and women who work in the agricultural
economy.
The artist,
John Cerney, is a Salinas local who himself grew up working
in the produce industry. He graduated from Long Beach State
with a degree in art. He has achieved a great deal of success
and recognition with his life-like murals and giant figures.
His work can be found all over Monterey County and in several
Western states.
Visitors are welcome to take pictures of these figures for
personal enjoyment. Any commercial use of these figures, in
photos, video, film, picture files from this website or otherwise,
is strictly prohibited under copyright laws. |
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