Read About How Artist Robert Maloney Created THE HAFFENEREFFER CHIMNEY RESTORATION PROJECT

THE HAFFENREFFER Chimney Restoration Project Narrative
By Robert Maloney

For 30 years the signage on the bricks of the former Haffenreffer Brewery chimney had been missing the first three letters of their name (HAF). The top of the chimney was removed and rebuilt in a process to repair the damaged structure over the course of several restoration projects. Living less than a block away from the brewery, I’ve seen the _ _ _ FENREFFER typographical error on a daily basis. Over the years, I’ve considered various ways to repair the signage to honor the history of the building, while also transforming the structure in a simple way into the 21st century.
Paying tribute to the way the passage of time leaves its’ mark on the urban landscape is something that is at the heart of my work. Another reason this restoration project was of particular interest to me is the fact that I was employed by an architectural signage company for 16 years. As a result I was deeply sensitized by this enormous misprint in the skyline of my neighborhood in Jamaica Plain.

In the summer of 2012, I had the impetus to formally elaborate on the _ _ _ FENREFFER project in graduate school at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. After researching a number of possibilities, the most reasonable solution was to attach the missing letters to a cage-like structure which would be mounted on top of the smoke stack like a crown. This grid-like structure is consistent with my recent body of work that speaks to the visual vocabulary of the urban landscape. This rigid scaffolding is incredibly strong, yet remarkably lightweight. It would allow wind, rain, and snow to circulate through it with little resistance. I created several mockups of the design, conducted research on the history of the brewery complex, and learned about the restoration process that the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC) conducted on the building over the past 30 years. After discussing the various aspects of the project with my professors, classmates, and colleagues, I drafted a formal proposal and began researching potential funders. Early on I discovered the George B. Henderson Foundation, an organization that specializes in raising “funds for restorations of historic properties, park preservations, art installations and other projects focused on enhancing the physical appearance of the city.” Upon seeing the countless projects that the Henderson Foundation had funded I knew that they would be the ideal match for my proposal.

I approached Lisa King at the JPNDC about the idea of partnering with me to submit the project to Henderson Foundation for consideration. I knew of the advocacy work that JPNDC had done to revitalize the Jamaica Plain community, so I was hopeful they would collaborate. After reviewing my proposal they agreed that the signage restoration project would be a wonderful way to pay tribute to the history of the building and the neighborhood and we began to work together on the project.

Over the past 5 years The Haffenreffer Chimney Restoration Project went through many stages of digital and physical mock-ups that led to architectural renderings--and finally to the fabrication of the structure of the crown. On December 28th, 2016 the cage-like structure with the letters HAF was crowned on top of the chimney completing the project.

As a long-time resident of Jamaica Plain, I take great pride in the legacy of the many businesses that once stood in this historic neighborhood (I live less than a block from the Brewery Complex in a former rubber factory that was converted into affordable artist live/work units between 2002-2005). The brick structure that towers over the Brewery Complex no longer functions as an exhaust chimney for the brewery, but it is a historic monument to a previous generation of industry in the neighborhood where I live.

The lost letterforms were the victims of nature and time, and an incomplete representation of the neighborhood’s history. It has been an incredible journey, partnering with the JPNDC to repair the once great HAFFENREFFER Brewery. Together we have made HAF into a whole once again!


Robert Maloney: Bio/Artist Statement

Robert Maloney is a Boston area native who creates multimedia pieces influenced by the many layers of the urban landscape. His recent work focuses on the connections between the temporary materials of our man-made structures and how these fragile forms relate to the erosion of our memories over the course of time. Robert combines a variety of materials like wooden structures, topographical maps and digital projections in ways that evoke a simultaneous process of amelioration and deterioration. Through the passage of time, only traces of the original instances may remain; the temporal residue of a previous existence.

Robert’s art has been featured in Creative Quarterly Magazine, Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine, The Pulse of Mixed Media (North Light Books), Art Revolution (North Light Books), The Woven Tale Press and Artscope Magazine and his work is in the collection of Wellington Management, Liberty Mutual and private collections nationally and internationally. Numerous galleries in the Boston area have shown Robert’s 2D and 3D mixed media work including Contemporary Arts International, Kingston Gallery, Mercury Gallery, FPAC Gallery, 13 Forest Gallery, Sunne Savage, 808 Gallery and the Copley Society of Art. Robert’s work was recently featured prominently within the context of the landscape in three public art pieces: the Illuminus Festival 2015, the Art on the Marquee at the Boston Convention Center and the Fenway 30 Second Cinema project. Robert received his MFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston where he is also an Associate Professor in the Illustration department.