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Press Release For Immediate Release March 1, 2002
Artist-in-Residence
Program Situated in Hamilton, City of Sculpture In the heart of Downtown Hamilton and the German Village Historic Neighborhood, a Cincinnati Sculptor has become the first Artist-in-Residence for the Hamilton, Ohio, City of Sculpture organization. Neil Cohen of Hamilton Scrap Processors has donated a 30'x30' open warehouse space with full window natural lighting at his business location of 134 Hensel Place along with equipment that can be utilized for the sculptor such as a 5000# lift truck, front-end loader, welding and torching equipment, and a scissor-lift work platform. Mr. Cohen's business location is a working scrap-metal recycling and processing yard with access to ferrous and nonferrous scrap metal. When asked why he donated the space for this project, Mr. Cohen responded, "I love art and sculpture, particularly metal sculpture. As a 3rd generation in the scrap business, I've always had dreams of doing this myself. So, I'm living vicariously through this sculptor while also helping our community." Mr. Cohen is also chairman of the Artist-in-Residence committee of the City of Sculpture organization. The City of Sculpture's first artist-in-residence is Cincinnati resident, Dennis C. Baker, who is working at Hamilton Scrap Processors each weekend. The following is a statement given by Mr. Baker: "When I’m not creating artwork, I’m thinking about it. I work with industrial discarded materials. I find this medium very intriguing and satisfying. I never know what I will find from one trip to the next, kind of like an industrial egg hunt. My artwork is very personable to me, I work with steel because it satisfies my need to create in some primal way. I like the raw edginess that steel has. I will even intentionally rust some of my pieces so they look old and aged. I have, as long as I can remember liked to assemble or put together “stuff”. Even as a kid I used to assemble models (probably not according to directions). So when I discovered welding, I knew I had hit my lifelong medium. The form of the piece is very important to me. I may spend hours and even weeks on a sculpture looking for that final piece to put in just the right spot before I consider it done. Oftentimes, several sculptures set in my studio just waiting to be complete. Finally, color completes the piece. As in the form, they may sit around for weeks until it hits me one day that a certain color or contrast colors would set it off. I like working with contrasting colors as they draw your eye to what I want you to see in the piece. I will put the sculpture in my house and live with it for some time to see if I like it. If I do, great. If not, it recycles to the industrial scrap heap to be reborn at a later time." Gerry Hammond, President of City of Sculpture, Inc. is very excited about the progress of this organization that formed in June of 2000. Ms. Hammond states "Since Hamilton received Governor Bob Taft's recognition as "The City of Sculpture" in August, a full Board of Trustees has been established and many announcements have been made for future sculptures that will be installed in Hamilton including Lentil and the Butler County Firefighters bronze statue. Other organizations are becoming increasingly energized with our goals." An example of the growth of the City of Sculpture concept is the Leadership Hamilton Class 9 project. Class 9 worked with art teachers of secondary schools in Hamilton to help students develop the sculptures that are currently on display at Fitton Center. According to John Fabello, member of Class 9, "We chose this project because it piggybacked with something going on in the city. This project tied us in with education, art, and the City of Sculpture." Even the new Artist-in-Residence is contributing to the expansion of the City of Sculpture program. Dennis Baker, is donating back several pieces that he is creating at Neil Cohen's warehouse for a future fundraiser of the nonprofit City of Sculpture organization. Other members of the City of Sculpture Board of Trustees are Vice President: Bill Hartford, Secretary: Patti Froelke, and Committee Chairs including Site: Trudy Marcum, Art Selection: Ken Snyder, Marketing: Debbie Bridge, and Development: Bill Hartford. According to Debbie Bridge, the Artist-in-Residence program helps to fulfill the mission of the City of Sculpture organization, which is to promote the recognition of Hamilton as a cultural community through obtaining sculptures to be placed in public spaces for the enjoyment of the citizens and visitors. More specific to the organization's marketing plan, this program will help increase the awareness of the City of Sculpture to Regional, National, and International Markets to encourage an influx of visitors to Hamilton and therefore promoting economic impact for our city. For more information regarding City of Sculpture Hamilton, Ohio, Inc. or for the Artist-in-Residence program:
Greater Hamilton Convention & Visitors Bureau Debra Bridge, Executive Director One Riverfront Plaza Hamilton, OH 45011 513-844-8080 1-800-311-5353
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