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Staff photo.
Frank Fleming is pictured in 2016 working on a piece of art.
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Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
Five Points South’s “Storyteller fountain.”
On Sunday, March 18, internationally renowned sculptor and Birmingham-based artist Frank Fleming died at the age of 77, according to his website, frankflemingart.com.
Fleming is most known for one of Birmingham's iconic and at one time slightly controversial pieces of art — the "Storyteller fountain," which was installed in 1992 and features a ram-headed man peacefully reading a book to several animal sculptures sitting and listening on rocks. The sculpture is located on 20th Street in the center of Five Points South.
Fleming, who was born on June 17, 1940, grew up in Bear Creek, and battled a speech impediment as a young boy that left him virtually mute.
“I wasn’t able to verbalize,” Fleming said in an interview with Iron City Ink in 2016. “I could talk to the animals, and I could sing, but I couldn’t talk to humans, including my family. I had a severe block.”
Instead, he formed a close bond to nature, one that would influence his creative work for the rest of his life, according to his website. After he took speech therapy for four years at what is now known as the University of North Alabama, he learned that he had a knack for art, and showed real talent in art courses. After graduating UNA, Fleming worked at Boeing and NASA as a technical illustrator until he eventually went on to get an MFA in ceramics at The University of Alabama, according to his website.
Fleming previously told Iron City Ink that since 1972, he has been working in Birmingham and establishing a worldwide reputation for his at times whimsical ceramics and sculptures.
“I deal with animal imagery, with plant life and with my surroundings, what I grew up with and what I know,” he said. “That’s pretty much how I would describe my art.”
Before the fountain, Fleming put on more than 85 one-man shows and various group shows across the country. His art has been displayed and bought by the Smithsonian Institution and other prestigious galleries.
Fleming told Iron City Ink that making art was one of the most important things in his life, no matter which piece he was working on, be it a large sculpture or a small one, all of them were important to him.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced, according to Alabama Media Group.
