Smithsonian includes Sarasota fountain in its public art collection

Downtown Sarasota is a place of busy streets, shops, office buildings and parking lots. A typical scene. But the bubbling fountain at the intersection of Pineapple and Lemon avenues is anything but typical. Bas-relief images of a silent mermaid, sly sea creatures and the tree of life fill your eyes by its dancing waters.

Nancy Goodheart Matthews created this joyful fountain of dreams in 1993. Most people call it the “Mermaid Fountain,” but its official title is “L’Aria della Figlia Muta,” which is Italian for “The Song of The Silent Daughter.” Her multicolored realm of magic, imagination and delight is a local favorite — and it’s also received national honors. (Her fountain’s included in the Smithsonian Institution’s public art collection.) The City of Sarasota will celebrate Matthews’ dreamy creation and its inclusion in the Smithsonian collection at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13 at Paul Thorpe Park, 135 S. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota.

The city held a rededication ceremony for the fountain in 2017 in what was renamed Paul Thorpe Park (formerly Pineapple Park. In 2022, the city rejected a proposal to turn the park into a food court.

In the following interview, Matthews shares how she made that dream visible.

I got a call from the assistant city engineer of the City of Sarasota, who asked me if I’d like to create a fountain on the site of an old gas station. I said, “Yes.” After that, I discussed the project with the architect, Russell Moore. He approved my concept; I got to work; and everything turned out fine.

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What was your artistic vision for the fountain? One side of the fountain is the sun and the other is the moon.

Yes, that's correct. It’s the duality of night and day — but it’s more than that. My fountain draws on the concepts of the psychologist Carl Jung, who divided the human psyche into the conscious and unconscious. In my fountain, the tree of life is on the dayside — the conscious side, and the male side. The mermaid is on the night side — the unconscious side, and the female side.

Ah. So your fountain brings both sides together.

Yes, exactly. The two become one and become a single whole. There’s also a yin/yang duality between land and sea. The mermaid is of the ocean; she’s flanked by two dolphins, with tile vignettes of sea creatures all along the fountain. On the other side, the tree of life is growing up from the land. My fountain also has a compass rose in the basin that grounds both sides to planet Earth.

It’s an uplifting concept — and an inspiring reality.

Thank you. That’s really what I was going for. The fountain has a lot of spiritual significance … if you know how to read it.

For example?

Well, the mermaid, certainly. She greets you at the southern gate to the city. She’s raising her arms in a welcoming gesture, which I learned from a Tai Chi master. I asked him, “What is the most welcoming position?” And he raised his hands like that. That's why she has her hands exactly in that position.

Absolutely. The fountain was a very complex project. And it really wasn’t one single piece. I actually assembled it from many different ceramic pieces that I created in my Bradenton studio. I hand-carved each piece, then glazed and fired them, sometimes multiple times.

It took nine months to create the finished ceramic elements. After that, it took three months to install. That was the hard part! I’d drive them to Sarasota, and then install them, piece by piece. I was working in the sun every day — and it was pretty tough. It was blazing hot with no shade. The supporting structure of the fountain was Marcite. It reflected the glaring sun wile I worked, and it was blinding. But little by little, it all came together.

Yes, I did. I drove down and looked at it one night. The fountain was all lit up — like a bright, colorful scene from a dream surrounded by all these ordinary buildings. And I just amazed that I’d been able to make that dream visible, so others could see it. I consider it to be very spiritual.

That’s beautiful. So … the fountain’s name is “The Song of The Silent Daughter.” Does the mermaid herself have a name?

That's a charming question — and no, she doesn't. But that's a wonderful idea.

I guess she was silent on the subject.

(laughs) Yes.

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Oh, my God, yes. People have told me so many stories! Couples have gotten married there; lovers have met on trysts; classical music students have played there. I’ve also heard from depressed people who said visiting the fountain instantly cheered them up. That’s what people have told me in person. I’d also received first-hand reports from a man in a nearby office building. My favorite is … apparently a woman stripped down to the nude on the mermaid side one day.

Aside from removing clothes, what reaction would you like your fountain to spark?

I hope that it’ll help them launch their own imagination — especially the little vignettes in the sidewalk, the little sea creatures. Each one is a starting point to stories and images. The imagery allows the viewer to engage his own imagination. The rational world is too much with us these days. Hopefully, I’d like this fountain to give visitors a break from its pounding demands.

Mermaid Fountain Commemoration: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13, at Paul Thorpe Park, 135 S. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota.