Tsunami Memorial Sculpture created by Midlander
Category: Local... News Commentary... Society & Culture...
Posted Tuesday, March 29, 2005 at 09:15 AM [GMT-6]

Much of my time last week was spent getting this website online before departing for vacation. The site features an in-progress sculpture by local artist Jim Hawklee. Once completed, the bronze (which is shown on the site in its current clay maquette form) will be offered as a memorial to victims of the Southeast Asia Tsunami.

The story behind the sculpture is fascinating, as Hawklee, who studied Environmental Design at Texas A&M, actually began planning and working on it almost a year before the catastrophic events that began last December 26. He relates having a vision of what the sculpture would look like, but not having a clear idea of why he was given this particular vision. It was only after the tsunami struck that he felt he understood the real reason for what has become something of an obsession. The sculpture is definitely striking in design, with multiple layers of symbolism.

If things go according to plan, Jim and his wife Kay (who composed the memorial poem displayed on the site) will offer the sculpture -- in monument-sized versions (20' and bigger across) to the governments of the affected countries as the centerpiece in national memorials. Smaller versions may eventually be available to private collectors or corporate sponsors. As noted on the website, Jim will also donate 30% of any profits generated by the commissions of this sculpture to tsunami relief efforts.

An interesting sidenote to all of this is that when I first met with the Hawklees to discuss the website, and specifically its promotion, Jim mentioned his hope that bloggers might pick up on it and generate some buzz. He had no idea that I am a minor participant in that medium, but he was perceptive enough to understand the potential impact of the blogosphere. (So, if you're also a blogger, why not give him a link and prove him right?)

Yesterday's occurrence of a deadly aftershock in the same area is a reminder that the impact of the December tsunami will be felt not just for years, but for generations.

Couple of technical notes about the website. The placement of the model in front of a local university building is the Photoshop magic of John Etheridge, partner in the ad firm of Dominey & Etheridge. The photos themselves were taken by Brian Hendershot, who has one awesome digital camera...and knows how to use it. The low res web versions don't do justice to the originals. I knocked out the backgrounds on the other images, but that was the easy part.

Technorati tag: Tsunami Memorial | Tsunami Relief