New Art in Western Sculpture Park

A new interactive sculputre was installed in Western Sculpture Park, located on Marion st. between I94 and University Ave., this week! The piece is an abstract bench titled 'Eyes of Newt ' created by artist Ted Sitting Crow Garner. The piece is made of painted wood and steel, 18’6” long. Ted Sitting Crow Garner is a native American artists of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Garner lives in Chicago.
The piece was installed on Tuesday, August 26th and is already a big favorite of the neighborhood.

Meditation Restored

Community Comes Together in Phalen Park Unity Ceremony

The sculpture Meditation by Lei Yixin, created for Phalen Park during the 2006 International Stone Carving Symposium (Minnesota Rocks!) was horribly defaced on the night of Sarurday, July 12 in the midst of the annual Dragon Festival. Discovered just before dawn Sunday morning by Parks maintenance crews, the sculpture was quickly covered with a tarp in an effort to shield celebrants.

Public Art Saint Paul was called early the following Monday morning by a deeply saddened and sympathetic Joe Buzicky of Saint Paul Parks maintenance. As the owner of the sculpture, it was Public Art Saint Paul’s responsibility to clean the sculpture but we knew that deeper restoration of community was needed.

Saint Paul’s artist in residence Marcus Young considered this and formed the idea of a ceremony to clean the sculpture and help us all heal. Led by Young’s vision, Public Art Saint Paul, the East Side Arts Council, Payne Phalen Community Council, East Side Neighborhood Development Corporation and East Side Peacekeepers laid other work aside and devoted themselves over 3 weeks to plan this event. Nick Banovetz of Padilla Spear Beardsley offered his pro-bono public information services.

On Friday evening, August 15, a Unity Ceremony was held at Phalen Park. Attended by hundreds, it carefully revealed the crime. To the slow beat of drums participants viewed the defacement from within an enclosure; eyes were unshielded and wept in shock and grief.
Then, very carefully, the healing began. Romi Slowiak and Marcus Young presided over the ritual that began with the stories told by Evelyn Lee, Christine Podas-Larson and Peter Morales of the sculpture’s birth, of the artist’s long journey and hard effort; of the sculpture dedication’s joy turned to fear and sadness a year later; of the hope that fills our minds and hearts. Church bells of nearby Gustavus Adolphus church rang to end a moment of silence. David Harris and intoned our feelings of loss and hope.

Saint Paul City Councilmember Dan Bostrom declared that violence and expressions of hate are intolerable in our community and vowed renewed efforts to improve public safety and bring the community together in understanding and peace. Police Chief John Harrington spoke powerfully of the community’s values of tolerance and amity, stating the seriousness with which he takes words of hate.

Choirs sang: Li-chen Chen chanted a traditional Buddhist mantra, the African chorus from Arlington Hills Presbyterian Church, Minhua Chorus and the Hmong Youth Choir. Spiritual comfort was offered by Rev. Dodson, H. David Stewart from Dayton Avenue Presbyterian Church and Terrance Rollerson. Marcus Young led those gathered in singing America The Beautiful.

A message from the artist, written by him on the ceremony’s eve, was read by Ning Li.

Read Lei's statement here (.pdf)

A line of 40 people spoke their names and entered the enclosure to begin the cleaning. Using cloth gaffer’s tape under the gentle instruction of conservator Kristin Cheronis, they each applied it and…to their real joy, saw the blue metallic spray paint peeled off under their loving pressure.

Marcus, Aki Shibata and Kristin gathered these onto a piece of acetate shaped in a circle. Soon a new artwork evolved: From Fear to Fearlessness.

The enclosure for sculpture viewing at Phalen Park with Evelyn Lee and drummers from Mu Daiko. Among participants were Tina Plant from Minnesota Rocks! sponsor Hedberg Landscape and Masonry and Larry and Liz Englund who were at the stone carving symposium every day. Councilmember Dan Bostrom met before the ceremony with Police Chief John Harrington, Christine Podas-Larson and Marcus Young and with Chao Lee of the office of US Rep Betty McCollum.
Photos by Andy King and Linnea Larson.

The Restoration

The week following the Unity Ceremony, the sculpture was completely restored by a dedicated crew led by professional art conservator Kristin Cheronis. Working from dawn to dusk August 18 – 22, they used gaffers tape, steam, acetone, and tools as fine as scalpels and dental picks the paint was slowly removed.

Cheronis notes that the few traces of blue paint that remain will bleach out in the sun over the next year, so we must be patient. With a gift from the Prosoco Company, the sculpture was re-sealed with a protective coating. Saint Paul Parks and the Youth Corps planted rings of rose bushes around the sculpture to help deter future vandalism.

A generous grant from the Saint Paul Foundation and individual gifts supported the restoration.

Over 100 people have enlisted as the East Side Stone Sentinels, committed to stewardship of the sculpture.

For more information-
Evelyn Lee's Statement about the Vandalism (.pdf)
Chris Robert's MPR Article about the Vandalism
Chris Robert's MPR article about the Restoration
KSTP's video clip about the Healing Ceremony

Western Sculpture Park Gathering

Western Sculpture Park Gathering

Ramsey County Commissioner Toni Carter Saint Paul City Councilmember Melvin Carter Summit University Planning Council Fuller Aurora Neighborhood Association and Public Art Saint Paul

Invite neighbors to join them for a Western Park Gathering

Tuesday, August 19
4:30 – 6:00pm
Western Park
Marion Street between I-94 and University Avenue

➢ Address recent vandalism in the Park
➢ Learn of the Park’s History
➢ Plan art installations and art programs for the coming year
➢ See new art created by Ober Center Youth
➢ Learn of plans for improvements to Western Avenue Selby to University
Participants eligible for
Door Prizes
(grocery and merchandise gift cards, transit passes, artworks and more)

Download a .pdf of the Flyer

Lake Phalen Healing Ceremony Updates

The Unity Ceremony at Phalen Regional Park is this

Friday, August 15th
Viewing 6pm
Ceremony 7pm

There will be a viewing period where the public can view the damage to the sculpture by passing through an enclosure beginning at 6pm.

The ceremony will begin at 7pm, and will feature community leaders speaking about the sculptures creation, the act of vandalism, the restoration process, and the community impact and next steps.

The ceremony is being held at the Amphitheater at Phalen Regional Park.

In the event of rain, the ceremony will be moved into the park's Picnic Pavilion.

Parking will be available at Gustavus Adolphus Church, in the lot on the corner of Arcade street and Larpenteur Ave. This parking lot is a 5-10 minute walk from the ceremony site, and shuttle service will also be available from the parking lot to the ceremony site from 5:30 until 9:30.

Download a .pdf of the Parking Map

View Larger Map

Further updates to come on this site.

"Meditation" Vandalism at Phalen Park

An ugly act of violence and hatred hit the Phalen Park neighborhood. On July 12, someone defaced areas of the park. The main target of this attack was the Asian and Asian American communities since the vandalism occurred during the Dragon Festival, but the racism was not directed at them alone. The most horrific of racist remarks and symbols were painting large-scale, defiling public space and public art.

The beautiful sculpture Meditation Lei Yixin was severely damaged. The icon was ground zero for this hate crime.

As complement to the efforts of the police and FBI, Public Art Saint Paul and East Side Arts Council are gathering the community on the evening of August 15th to create greater awareness of this tragedy, bring people together to foster understanding and peace, and to ask for help in cleaning the statue and safeguarding its future.

Please join us on Friday, August 15 as the healing begins in the stone symposium’s spirit of international amity. Watch this page for details of event program and logistics (such as parking).

Public Art Saint Paul's Press Release-

East Side Arts Council and Public Art Saint Paul Respond to
Phalen Park Hate Crimes

St. Paul Art and Cultural Organizations Plan Community-Wide Healing Event
to Restore Key Sculpture

St. Paul, Minn., Aug. 1, 2008 – The East Side Arts Council and Public Art Saint Paul announced plans today to repair the Phalen Park sculpture, Meditation, in response to hate crimes that occurred in the park on July 12, 2008. Public Art Saint Paul owns the sculpture by Chinese artist Lei Yixin that was created through the 2006 International Stone Carving Symposium, Minnesota Rocks!

“Citizens and organizations of the Phalen Park neighborhood are devastated by the appalling vandalism that occurred in Phalen Park,” said Sarah Fehr, Executive Director of the East Side Arts Council. “Public Art Saint Paul, District 5 Planning Council, East Side Neighborhood Development Corporation and many others are joining with us to collectively restore Meditation to its beautiful presence as a symbol of peace and tranquility for residents of St. Paul’s East Side.”

A community healing event on Friday, Aug. 15 will begin the restoration efforts. Details to follow in the coming weeks.

The following organizations are contributing to Meditation restoration and community awareness efforts surrounding the vandalism: East Side Arts Council, Public Art Saint Paul, East Side Neighborhood Development Company, Dragon Festival Committee, Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, East Side Peacemakers and District 5 Planning Council.

The investigation for the Phalen Park hate crimes is currently open. Images of the Meditation statue are available upon request.

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Visit the Dragon Festival Website

Visit Public Art St. Paul's Main Website
for more information on the creation of 'Meditation'

Art of Traffic Calming

Steven Woodward is a Saint Paul based sculptor who served as Resident Artist from 2005-06. With Public Works streetscape engineers, he participated in community forums on strategies to make city neighborhoods safer and more pedestrian friendly. The Art of Traffic Calming is the result of his exploration of these critical urban issues. The project consists of 30 art signs that were installed beginning in June along stretches of city streetscape. After several weeks they will be rotated and then moved to other parts of the city for repeat performances.

To learn more, call the Art of Traffic Calming Hotline: 651-266-6216!

Made in the Public Works sign shop from highly colorful and reflective materials, they enliven the streetscapes as they further discussion of how to achieve safer streets in Saint Paul’s neighborhoods. Traffic speeds will be measured before, during and after each art sign installation, so the City will be able to readily evaluate their effectiveness. Public Works streetscape employees are excited about the prospect of their new roles: curators of a very public artwork.

The Public Artist Residency and the Art of Traffic Calming are made possible by Public Art Saint Paul’s Placemaking Fund, with support from Saint Paul Neighborhood STAR.

The City of Saint Paul's Page on the Project

The Pioneer Press featured it as front page news on July 29!

Artist Steven Woodward's Website

For more information about
Saint Paul's Public Artist in Residency Program,
visit Public Art Saint Paul's Main Page