| PETER W. MICHEL, Sculptor ● Sculpture in Celebration of Self, Relationship and Community |
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| Primed totem at City Hall Commons Saturday morning | The fully painted totem at City Hall Commons | Detail
of the painted community totem with the Syracuse City Hall in the background |
| The Community Totem is an example of arts creating
community. It does this in two ways. First, the visual metaphor of
individuals supporting each
other can spark the imagination and consciousness of what is
possible: creating
the kind of community where each
indiviual is supported in thriving and being fully self expressed and
each individual in turn contributes
to a dynamic, vital, robust, and whole community.
Secondly, the process
is also a metaphor - the participation of the children and the setup
team
is a symbol of the power to accomplish the improbable that becomes
available by working
together. The lower part of the primed 21 foot tall wood totem was on display on Friday July 24th near Columbus Circle in Downtown Syracuse as part of the Syracuse Arts and Craft Fest. On Saturday morning, July 25th, the entire primed totem was set up at the City Hall Commons then taken down and the parts set up like easels which the children then painted. More photos can be seen on Peter's Picasa website also see slide show preview below. |
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| SCHEDULE | |||||
| . | Day | Date | Time | Activity | Location |
| Friday | July 24 | 10am - 6pm | Primed Totem on display | Columbus Circle | |
| Saturday | July 25 | 9am -10:30am | Primed Totem on display | City Hall Commons | |
| Saturday | July 25 | 11am - 3pm | Children paint the totem | City Hall Commons | |
| Saturday | July 25 | 3:30pm - 6pm | Painted Totem on display | City Hall Commons | |
| Saturday | August 1 | 10am - 6pm | Painted Totem on display | Clinton Square |
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| Many thanks to the Rosamond Gifford Foundation for its generous support of this project. |
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| The Community Totem Project for Artsweek was inspired by a participatory totem project completed in Houston during the International Year of the Child. It was painted on an afternoon at Houston's Miller Outdoor Theater by 116 children. (photos below) |
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| For details
of other activities during Artsweek see the websites of The Connective Corridor or The Downtown Committee of Syracuse |
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© 2009 by Peter W. Michel Posted 07-16-2009 updated 08-05-09
| Peter W. Michel, sculptor ● 185 Brookside Lane ● Fayetteville, NY 13066 ● 315-632-4780 ● peter@petermichel.com |
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| Syracuse Artsweek Community Totem |