The fabled Neil Peart of Rush will be honored with two statues at Lakeside Park, in the city of St. Catharines in Ontario, Canada. According to local reports, the tribute was orchestrated by the City of St. Catherines' Neil Peart Commemorative Task Force, and the bronze statues will be created by sculptor Morgan MacDonald of the Newfoundland Bronze Foundry. It's worth noting that Lakeside Park was the inspiration for the Rush track of the same name, from their 1975 LP, Caress of Steel.
The statues are meant to commemorate the musical, as well as the lyrical contributions Peart made to Rush. An Ayn Rand devotee, much of Peart's lyrics reflected Rand's works including Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, and her dystopian novella Anthem was the influence for the album and title track of Rush's 1976 LP, 2112.
Earning the nickname "The Professor" from the band and fans alike, the statues of Peart, are expected to be roughly 12 feet tall, with a mid-70s era Peart holding a book in one hand and a pair of drumsticks on another, and set behind that is another statue, this of an older Peart, with sticks in hand and a snare drum in his lap. You can check out some of the images below.
MacDonald and his team were one of seven artists that submitted entries for commission. “Our monument and site design concepts are the results of an extensive personality interpretation and expression exercise that ensures meaningful relevance to people, place and legacy. We are proud of this effort and its results," MacDonald said in his team's submission statement.
Task force Chair David DeRocco said in a statement, "I liken the process to asking a die-hard Rush fan to choose the one song they think exemplifies and captures the true essence of the band. How do you choose? The quality of the artist submissions made it very difficult to pick only one. There were many incredible elements and ideas presented, but this was about more than Neil the musician. In the end I think fans will be happy with the installation. What we need now is for those same fans to help us reach our fundraising goals so we can get it built.”
A link has been set up for donations to help complete the project. You can click here to donate. Peart died in January of 2020 after a three year battle with brain cancer.
