Centennial Ribbons
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| The centennial of the city of Fort Myers called the City
of Palms,1885-1985 was planning a celebration and a part of it was the
replacement of some of the missing Royal Palms that grace McGregor
Boulevard. I accepted the opportunity to produce a limited edition work on
paper to raise the funds to buy the replacement trees and to create a
centerpiece work titled "Centennial Ribbons" to focus the centennial on the beauty of the remaining palms
and their history. The limited edition sold completely in the first week and I was free to proceed with the installation and again place art in the context of life.
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Pictured below is one of the artist proofs from the limited edition. |
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| Thomas Alva Edison lived along McGregor Blvd. and was one of the sponsors of the original palms planted there. My installation "Centennial Ribbons" called for 100 ribbons to be installed on as many trees along a section of the boulevard adjacent to the Edison Home and near the Tootie McGregor Terry fountain that sculptor Don Wilkins had refurbished as part of the centennial celebrations. |
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| The celebrations included a vintage car parade, a ceremony at the Tootie McGregor fountain to acknowledge the efforts on the part of the members of the Rotary Club on behalf of the city's centennial. |
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| Following the vintage car parade people began to concentrate for the planting ceremonies of the first replacement Royal Palms. |
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| City of Fort Myers Mayor Arthur N. Hamel (pictured above) entertained the local media at the planting of the first tree. |
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| Finally the celebrations concluded at the home of Thomas
Alva Edison with the hanging of the last ribbon onto one of the Royal
Palms that was planted at his request in front of the house. The ribbon was hanged by videographer John Biffar and my biographer Brent Scheneman. This is 1985 and although still under the experimental guise, it was pretty evident that art in the context of life was already a golden cultural nugget. the outcome of this work purchased a number of replacement Royal Palms on McGregor Boulevard that are still alive in 2008. |