In May 1974, the sculpture Michael by John Raimondi was installed at Canal Square, now known as One City Center Plaza. This installation was a collective effort involving the Maine Arts Commission, Portland Museum of Art, Maine College of Art, Canal Bank, and was supported by a grant from the NEA. Raimondi was named an artist-in-residence for the Portland school system’s Program Prep, a school dedicated to at-risk students. Over the course of nearly a year, he collaborated with these students to design, fabricate, and install the sculpture.
Michael is named after Raimondi’s best friend from the army. In college, John shared a house with Michael and his wife, which deepened their bond. When Raimondi began developing a visual vocabulary for the sculpture, he found inspiration in the letter “M.” Raimondi also studied at the Portland School of Fine and Applied Art (now the Maine College of Art) under the guidance of Norman Therrien, the sculptor who created The Maine Lobsterman, which is situated right across Temple Street from Michael.
