Caravan

Just learned about an interesting twist on the "cow parade" style public art installations that periodically pop up around the world. It comes from Cairo.

The parade installations have been around since 1998 when Zurich produced a number of blank fiberglass cow sculptures and gave them to artists to decorate. The beautiful bovines were distributed throughout the city in the  "Land im Sicht" exhibit, then auctioned off for charity.
Chicago followed suit the next year with its "Cow Parade" and since then cities world wide have followed the concept with subjects from penguins in Liverpool to Cod in Boston, MA.
But back to Cairo- this latest parade is called "Caravan" and comprises 25 life size donkeys. The project was sponsored by the Swiss Embassy as an interfaith art exhibit as both Muslim and Christian artists were asked to  participate. After being shown around the city, the entire group was moved to St. Paul's Cathedral in London where they'll be auctioned off by Sotheby's after they're shown to raise funds for charities that benefit the poor in Egypt.
According to organizers, "The donkey symbolises peace in both Christianity and Islam, and is found in both the Bible and in the Qur’an".
The chancellor of St. Paul's elaborated- “There are over 40 million donkeys on this earth and 96% of them live alongside the poorest people of the world. They are known and loved for their hard work, resilience, loyalty and stubbornness. They have been used for the best and worst of human intentions: from carrying the war wounded to medical help at Gallipoli, to bearing explosives to kill in today’s war zones. Jesus chose a donkey to symbolise the divine humility. Similarly in the Islamic tradition, the Prophet was carried by Ya`fūr. This exhibition, by both Muslim and Christian artists from Egypt, calls us to remember the peoples of that country today and what can be achieved together rather than apart. It also, at a time when both Muslims and Christians suffer persecution for their faith in many places, reminds us that just as the donkeys journey together in the Cathedral towards the Holy, so humans only become spiritually alive when they travel together in peace and with compassion."
For more info go to- Art Daily

Ten Years Ago

Photo by Jason Nevader/WireImage

Just a quick post-
It was just ten years ago (August 14, 2003) that almost 80% of Northeast US power consumers lost their electricity. A tree branch, they say, fell on a power line in Ohio, and the tsunami effect took over.
There were lots of stories of communities pulling together and heroics under adverse conditions, but one of the most striking images to come out of the event was the one above.
Because Lady Liberty is on my mind, and especially the little known nuts and bolts of her daily life, I wanted to share this.
She has her own diesel generator, and in this case, gave the huddled masses something to look to in more ways than one.

The Return of the Stone Pilgrim

I've been following public sculpture stories for over a decade now and have reported on them in previous blogs ("Tales of a Stone Pilgrim" at blogs.salon.com/0003346, now sadly defunct, and "More Stone Pilgrim" at morestonepilgrim.blogspot.com) in spurts.
It's now time to bring the world up to date on tales of our man-made companions around the world, how they affect us, and how we affect them. Because, after all, public sculpture is all about relationships, and relationships evolve.
Some of the posts will be updates on previous stories.
Some will be completely new. I welcome comments and suggestions as I go on.
Some will be ruminations on the "stories behind the stories" and others will be snapshots of what's happening in the world around us.
There will even be times when a post may just be a link or a picture with my brief comment or question attached.
I welcome guest posts from other bloggers who are as involved/fascinated with the work of public sculpture as I am.

And now to today's news.

View from the Torch cam from earthcam.com's website

I just learned from PRweb.com that the 5 cameras from Earthcam's Statue of Liberty cams are online and functioning again for the first time since Hurricane Sandy. The cameras, which are called the Torch cam, the Crown Cam, the Harbor Cam, and the Lady Liberty cam allow anyone to experience unique views of the harbor and Liberty Island 24/7.
The torch itself has been closed to the public for almost 100 years- ever since  German agents sabotaged a munitions depot, setting off an explosion that killed around 50 people. Ensuing shrapnel damaged the statue's torch and skirt in 1916 in the event, known as the Black Tom explosions. Accessing the cams online is the only way to enjoy that view now.
You can visit the cams at  http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/statueofliberty/?cam=liberty_crown.
This isn't just a one off for earthcam, who runs the cameras. They've been around for almost 20 years and host sites in the Washington Monument, Petra in Jordan, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and the Eiffel Tower, according to their press release.