(Mara Lavitt — New Haven Register) February 27,
2014 Derby Albanian-born Vasil Rakaj of Ansonia, in his Derby studio at
the Valley Center for the Arts, has been commissioned to create a bronze
memorial sculpture of Ded Coku, an Albanian patriot, for installation
in Albania.
DERBY >> An Ansonia artist who is a native
of Albania is creating a sculpture that honors the memory of a patriot
from his homeland.
For the past several weeks,
Vasil Rakaj
has been painstakingly working on a 5-foot clay sculpture of longtime
Albanian political leader Ded Coku. He was hailed as a hero and was
assassinated in 1945 at age 75 by communist dictators.
Rakaj is working on the sculpture in a studio in the Valley
Center of the Arts in Derby, which is run by the Valley Arts Council.
When the work is completed, Rakaj said, he will make a plaster
cast of it. He will cut the plaster cast into pieces and ship it later
this year to a foundry in Albania, where it will be cast in bronze.
Rakaj is working from several photos of Coku, seen dressed in a traditional ethnic costume.
The sculpture will be mounted on a stone pedestal, he said, and
erected outdoors in the northern city of Lezha, Albania, where Coku
served as mayor for 32 years.
Rakaj said Coku owned a big farm and employed many people. “A lot of people respect him.”
Rakaj said Lezha has beautiful architecture, and the sculpture will be placed “in the middle of the city.”
The current mayor of Lezha, Viktor Tuska, asked Rakaj to create the sculpture.
“I change many times how the sculpture looks, (to decide) which
form is better or which modeling is good,” said Rakaj, who has lived in
the United States since 1998.
He is using oil-based clay on the piece. He said it’s easier to
use than water-based clay because he doesn’t need to spray the sculpture
with water. “It’s ready all the time because it’s oil-based,” Rakaj
said.
He will use 800 pounds of clay by the time he finishes the work.
Rakaj is a member of the Valley Arts Council. Rich DiCarlo,
Valley Arts Council president, has been watching the progression of the
artwork.
He said Rakaj “has captured the romanticism behind the hero” with
the sculpture. “You don’t see this kind of sculpture around,” DiCarlo
said. “Most of the statues you see are stoic.”
DiCarlo said the features Rakaj has sculpted depict “a proud
face.” He said Rakaj “has a pride for his native country and it shows in
the craftsmanship.”
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