Unsung heroes of Silver Spring
In this life of illusion and quasi-illusion,
the person of solid virtues who can be admired for something
more substantial than his well-knownness often proves to be
the unsung hero: the teacher, the nurse, the mother, the honest
cop, the hard worker at lonely, underpaid, unglamorous, unpublicized
jobs.
—Daniel J. Boorstin, The Image: A Guide to
Pseudo-Events in America.
In the summer of 2003, 17 young artists embarked on a mission
to discover and depict the unsung heroes of Silver Spring.
Their quest began with a private showing of Walter Gottlieb’s
Silver Spring: Story of an American Suburb, which was
followed by a question/answer session with the producer.
The aspiring artists spent a few days on research and inspiration,
and then returned to their cavernous (and improbable) studio
in Metro Plaza to begin putting form to their visions.
These young people were the second flowering of Arts on the
Block, an on-the-job arts program for youth, based on the
wildly successful Gallery 37 in Chicago. Lead by South African
artist Carien Quiroga, the apprentice artists created six
full-size mosaic figures of broken tile and woven wire. Each
figure represented a lesser-known figure, real or metaphorical,
drawn from Silver Spring’s history.
The young artists’ selection of heroes is as surprising
as it is refreshing. Apparently unimpressed by the old newspaperman
falling off his horse, as well as the more contemporary Blair
graduates and media glits Connie Chung, Goldie Hawn, and Ben
Stein, the teens chose instead more mundane (and arguably,
substantial) heroes: Eunice Ramsey, Tastee Diner waitress,
and John Eberson, the Silver Theater’s Art Deco designer.
To these historically unsung heroes they added four metaphorical
heroes: "The Evolving Woman of Silver Spring," a
tribute to "the changing but always productive role of
the female in this community;" Sam, the archetype of
Silver Spring youth; and "Older Generation and Teenager,"
a dyad celebrating "the generosity that established members
of the community exhibit for their counterparts and especially
the younger generation."
My favorite mosaic is of Eunice Ramsey, created by Robyn
Haley, Allison Yood, and John Greenberg, students at Montgomery
Blair, Einstein, and Bethesda-Chevy Chase high schools, respectively.
Their purpose was to convey the qualities of "loyalty,
generosity, modesty, and kindness, all adjectives that apply
to a local icon" and Tastee Diner waitress of some 45
years. The indefatigable waitress is shown serving up a dish
of Silver Spring penguins to her audience. Most of the figure
is a mosaic of broken tile, while Eunice’s dynamic arms
are captured in woven wire, which, according to the artists’
statement, "required a lot of bending, folding, and plenty
of band-aids."
Arts on the Block is the brainchild of Jan Goldstein and
Nancy Sausser of Montgomery Youth Works. Goldstein and Sausser
received a grant in spring 2003 to work with teens from Blair
and Bethesda-Chevy Chase to set up an after-school program
in which students could create visual and performance art
projects in collaboration with professional artists, while
earning a small stipend. The goal of the project was to work
with a diverse spectrum of teens that were united by a personal
passion for making art.
The timing of the project was fortuitous in that it coincided
with Silver Spring’s desire to remake itself into an
arts and entertainment district. The project quickly gained
notable support from local arts groups as well as the government
and business community. Trizec Properties, one of the largest
commercial property investment companies in the country, offered
Arts on the Block 8000 square feet of space in Metro Plaza
to serve as their studios.
Patronage does not come without strings attached, as the
young artists learned during last summer’s Unsung
Heroes of Silver Spring project. In its original conception,
two of the unsung heroes focused on the issue of homelessness
and the work of Progress Place. One hero was to represent
community members who had been instrumental in establishing
Shepherd’s Table, Community Visions, and other groups
dedicated to serving homeless people in Silver Spring. The
other unsung hero was going to represent a homeless man. While
their artistic advisors applauded the insight and compassion
of the young artists, the advisors representing government,
business, and the residential community felt uncomfortable
with the decision to draw attention to the issue of homelessness,
fearing that it would tarnish Silver Spring’s image.
The teens were persuaded to transform the pair into the "Older
Generation and Teenager" and represent a more generic
depiction of community compassion.
Goldstein is philosophical about the controversy. "While
I felt bad that the teens had to revise their original vision,
it was ultimately their decision. They got a real life taste
of the challenges involved in creating public art. There will
always be a tension between what the patron wants and the
original artistic vision."
The revised Unsung Heroes mosaic project was well
received by the community. The artists used their newly-developed
mosaic skills to create an interpreted mosaic logo for Trizec,
as a way to thank them for their gift of studio space. Trizec
property manager Genny Hardesty was deeply impressed.
"Our mosaic logo is the treasure of our office,"
she said.
Trizec’s enthusiasm was the springboard for the students’
current entrepreneurial effort. In an effort to fund the program,
the young artists are offering to create interpreted mosaic
logos for local businesses and organizations. The logos of
approximately two feet square sell for between $300 and $500.
For more information about Arts on the Block
and the unsung local heroes behind this project, email: jgoldstein@montgomeryyouthworks.com.
|
