Release the Fear - Unveiling of the Sculpture
I just realized that we a really close to the unveiling of the sculpture. The ceremony will be held Saturday, May 21st 2005, 9:00 am at Sweet Acacia Park (Central & Roosevelt).
Govenor Janet Napolitano and Mayor Phil Gordon will be amoungst other dignitaries attending this ceremony.
Feel free to contact me with any questions about this event. You can reach me at 602-327-1778
Please see the article below:
Angela Cara Pancrazio
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 6, 2005 12:00 AM
CENTRAL PHOENIX - A 24-foot-tall sculpture made from four tons of melted-down weapons is rising in the center of Phoenix.
Everything from automatic weapons and handguns to brass knuckles and knives have been transformed into the art project called Release the Fear, the brainchild of Phoenix artist Robert Miley.
His statue, which he calls a monument to peace and understanding, is finally coming to fruition at Sweet Acacia Park, a tiny grassy space between Central and First avenues on Roosevelt Street. The project that started nearly a decade ago is nearly complete, a looming sculpture that resembles a human figure with outstretched arms. It will be unveiled May 21.
Miley's design is based on his concept to show fear rising out of the weapons, then released through the outstretched arms aiming at the heavens. The figure is also symbolic, representative of the city's icon, the Phoenix bird.
The artist said he sought to take something that was used for something terrible and give it hope.
He intentionally set aside dozens of the weapons confiscated by local law enforcement officials and placed them around the base of the sculpture.
"Seeing weapons at the base of this is a reminder of what we can transform from; we can rise above the violence and nothing is impossible," he said.