Buffalo sculptor David Derner will soon be unveiling a one-of-a-kind sculpture for a someone who was certainly a one-of-a-kind guy… Sylvester “Sly” Bennett Jr.
Over the years, this city has been home to a handful of street people, not all homeless, who have added some serious color to our neighborhoods. There was Irene “The Lady in White” Davis, and Valerie “Screaming Jeanne” Cooper, and Sylvester “Sly” Bennett Jr.
Sly was certainly one personality that was hard to forget. He would walk the streets, asking for a dollar and/or a cigarette. Unless you knew who Sly was, he could come across as aggressive because of his agitated movements, his loud voice, or his brazen tenacity.
“Overall he was a nice guy,” said Derner, who has lived near the corner of Elmwood and Forest for years. “I would see him around here all the time. He started off in Allentown, and then moved up towards Caffé Aroma, and then around Forest, as well as Grant Street. Before he passed away, I asked him if I could sculpt him. He said, ‘No, noooo, no, no.’ Then he asked, ‘What’s in it for me?’ When I told him that I was an artist, he replied, ‘Oh, a starving artist… ok,ok.’ He knew the concept, so I took about 15 photos of him. He didn’t like the process that much, because a crowd of people stood around us.”
Derner told me that he had had the idea of sculpting Sly in his back pocket for a while, and then he heard the sad news.
“I heard that he passed away during the pandemic,” said Derner. “Since I’m a professor at Buffalo State, I had some extra time on my hands and figured that it was the perfect time to start working on the sculpture. Usually homeless people don’t get a sculpture made… the way I look at it is that this work of art is like a monument for all street people. I made the bronze bust of Sly a bit more dignified, because he always felt that he was some sort of superhero, and he was famous around here.”
One of the biggest problems that Derner faced, was where to put it? It’s not exactly easy to find people and organizations that own properties that are willing to accept something like this. And the crowdfunding effort didn’t yield the results that he had hoped for. So that meant that Derner had to become more resourceful, while using some of his own money to get the project done.
While there were certainly some issues that Derner had to combat, there were also plenty of supporters, like his friend Robert Ludwig, who helped as much as they could. Derner also got creative, by sourcing some of the materials in unexpected places.
“On campus, there are still some pieces of marble from the St. Joseph’s RC New Cathedral (demolished 1976),” Derner told me. “It’s right outside from where we pour iron. We’ve been eating lunch on a huge 5+ foot piece of marble for years. We took it and flattened the sides with saws, chisels, and hammers. Then we power-washed it.”
As Derner and his friends worked on the art piece, he continued on with the search for the final destination. One day, he spoke to his landlord, Jennifer Bronstein, who happens to own Half & Half Boutique and Tipico Coffee & Café (1084 Elmwood Avenue). She told him that the front yard of the coffee house would be the perfect spot.
“I’ve lived on the block since 1982,” Derner told me. “I agree that it’s the perfect spot. We will soon have an official dedication, with a little fanfare. I wrote my first poem ever in my life, which is now on a bronze plaque.”
whether sidewalk or street
or cafe where we’d meet
as he slept neath tree tall
he affected us all
Derner said that this tribute is to all of the marginalized people out there that, in some way or form, enhance our own lives. He also mentioned that Sly was a a great model for sculpting, and that he “had a presence.”
Later in the spring, Derner will have a minister from an Elmwood Village church give a blessing, along with a ceremonial unveiling of the sculpture.
