Video: Meet Canada’s new Dominion Sculptor

Start of video

[Music plays]

(Text on screen: Public Services and Procurement Canada)

[Shot of John-Philippe Smith speaking with Parliament Hill in the background.]

(Text on screen: John-Philippe Smith, Dominion Sculptor)

Hello my name is John-Philippe Smith and I’m the Dominion Sculptor.

[Shot of a flat marble piece with sculpting tools on it.]

[Shot of John-Philippe Smith with a white safety helmet, vest and mask looking at details of a sculpture.]

[Shot of John-Philippe Smith and Phil White with white safety helmets, vests and masks looking at a large sculpture.]

[Shot of John-Philippe Smith speaking with Parliament Hill in the background.]

So the role of the Dominion Sculptor is two-fold really. One is the overview of the maintenance for all sculptural and ornamental elements that are part of the Parliamentary Precinct. And secondly is to work on new sculptural works for the future of Decorative program.

[Shot of John-Philippe Smith with a white safety helmet, vest and mask looking at details of a sculpture.]

[Close-up shot a hand with a pencil making marks on a drawing.]

[Close-up shot of Phil White’ face concentrating while drawing.]

[Close-up shot of a man chiseling using tools.]

[Wide shot of a man chiseling using tools on a mortar slab.]

[Shot from above the Hall of Honour where John-Philippe Smith and Phil White wearing white safety helmets, vests and masks are walking below. Wooden crates line the walls of the Hall.]

[Shot of John-Philippe Smith speaking with Parliament Hill in the background.]

Being the sixth Dominion Sculptor is quite something when I look back at all the works that have been completed and all those who have worked on the Parliament buildings as carvers and it’s really something. You know you walk in the building and you look at all the works that have been done by those who were there before me. I kind of feel like I’m standing on the shoulders of giants in some ways.

[Shot of Phil White speaking with Parliament Hill in the background.]

(Text on screen: Phil White, Former Dominion Sculptor)

My name is Phil White and I’m the former Dominion Sculptor.

[Shot of Phil White working on a sculpture in a small room with many tools hung on the wall.]

[Wide-angled shot of Phil White working on a sculpture in a hallway in Centre Block.]

[Close-up shot of Phil White working on a sculpture in a hallway in Centre Block.]

[Shot of sculpted vaulted ceiling details above a door. Uncarved blocks visible on the wall.]

[Close-up shot of vaulted stone ceiling details and uncarved blocks on the wall.]

[Close-up shot of vaulted stone ceiling details and uncarved blocks on the wall.]

Well I retired on July 1st, 2021. When the architect John Pearson created the design for the building he had this vision that there would hundreds if not even thousands of uncarved blocks sticking out of the wall that would be sculpted and carved to interpret Canada’s history and culture over the years.

[Close-up shot of hands sculpting with a tool.]

[Shot of Phil White working on a sculpture in a small room with many tools hung on the wall.]

[Shot of Phil White speaking with Parliament Hill in the background.]

When I was a Dominion Sculptor, I carved about 4 or 5 uncarved blocks. And the work on those blocks has continued until this day.

[Shot of John-Philippe Smith and Phil White with white safety helmets, vests and masks looking at details of a sculpture.]

[Wide-angled shot of vaulted ceiling sculptured stones in a long corridor of the Hall of Honour. Wooden crates line the wall of the Hall.]

Some of the pieces that I’ve done so far in Centre Block were carving the emblems of the House of Commons and as well as the Senate and those stones are set in the walls of the Hall of Honour.

[Photo of John-Philippe Smith and Phil White looking at a Coat of Arms sculpture.]

[Photo of Phil White making marks on a sculpture of the Coat of Arms with a pencil while John-Philippe Smith watches from the side.]

[Photo of a paint brush on the Coat of Arms sculpture that will be cast in bronze.]

[Photo of the finished Coat of Arms sculpture installed and displayed outside a building.]

As well as some of the other projects were carving the Coat of Arms of Canada. We had that cast in bronze and it’s now at 180 Wellington.

[Shot of John-Philippe Smith and Phil White with white safety helmets, vests and masks talking and pointing at the details of a sculpture.]

[Wide-angled shot of John-Philippe Smith and Phil White with white safety helmets, vests and masks looking at details of a sculpture.]

[Close-up shot of a sculpture of a man’s face. ]

[Wide angled shot of John-Philippe Smith and Phil White with white safety helmets, vests and masks walking through the Hall of Honour.]

My role during the restoration of Centre Block is really to oversee the maintenance of sculptural elements and ornamentation, as well as looking at possibilities for new work.

[Pan up shot of John-Philippe Smith and Phil White with white safety helmets, vests and masks talking and pointing at the details of a sculpture while standing on scaffolding.]

[Close-up shot of John-Philippe Smith with a white safety helmet, vest and mask talking.]

[Shot of John-Philippe Smith speaking with Parliament Hill in the background.]

[Close-up shot of a hand with a tool chiseling.]

[Close-up shot of details of the Canadian Coat of Arms sculpture.]

[Shot of John-Philippe Smith speaking with Parliament Hill in the background.]

I think the biggest challenge during the rehabilitation will be mostly towards the new works where we will be telling a story of you know different themes and it’s just to make sure that we’ve done our research and all the pieces are carved in such a way that they tell the full story and are captivating to Canadians who come to visit Parliament.

[Close-up shot of Phil White with a white safety helmet, vest and mask talking with John-Philippe Smith.]

[Shot of Phil White speaking with Parliament Hill in the background.]

I told him to you know be patient and listen to the people around you. But also at the same time be able to make decisions quickly. It’s very important.

[Shot of an old black and white photo of a former Dominion Sculptor chiseling a sculpture.]

[Shot of an old black and white photo of a former Dominion Sculptor sitting and chiseling a sculpture.]

[Photo of the new Dominion Sculptor and former Dominion Sculptor standing in front of the Coat of Arms.]

That was the same advice that Eleanor Milne, one of my predecessors, gave me.

[Photo of the new Dominion Sculptor and former Dominion Sculptor.]

[A back shot of John-Philippe Smith and Phil White with white safety helmets, vests and masks walking through the Hall of Honour.]

[Shot of John-Philippe Smith and Phil White with white safety helmets, vests and masks looking at and discussing details of a sculpture.]

I have a very close relationship with Phil. First and foremost we are good friends and it was just a great experience to have worked with him over the period of time that I did. I’m very lucky to have worked with him.

[Shot of Phil White sitting at a drafting table drawing.]

[Wide angled shot of John-Philippe Smith and Phil White with white safety helmets, vests and masks walking through the Hall of Honour.]

He’s so gifted in so many ways and he left me with pretty well all the tools that I need to be successful in this position so I’m very grateful to him for that.

(Text on screen: This video was produced in accordance with public health guidelines in place at the time of recording.)

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[Music stops]

(Public Services and Procurement Canada signature)

(Canada Wordmark)

End of video