From the Maplewood 4th of July Committee:
If there ever was one activity that epitomized Maplewood’s 4th of July as a community-wide endeavor in the best spirit of Maplewood, it would have to be the “Art Project.” Visit the Facebook page and contact bjohnk1@gmail.com to pick your pixels!
The 2016 iteration of this 4th of July tradition, spearheaded once again by John Kaufman, will be mounted on the big ballfield backstop in Memorial Park’s South Field. A participatory enterprise on an even bigger scale than last year, each “pixel” is an opportunity for individual expression: artistic/thematic/emotional.
People are encouraged to be creative and take liberties with the image; even allowing for the insertion of faces of Maplewoodians who wish to participate and sign the statement. The assembled pixels will form two images plus an actual flag on display — the real flag is part of the visual.
The project attempts to advance an apolitical statement, wanting to make a positive comment regarding the state of the country. With a theme of balance inspired by baseball imagery, you can make a statement and sign on for sense and reason. John planned it would be about the national pastime; then politics compelled him in the direction of trying to present this project as a petition. As we can see in the news, people have differences of opinion but in the interest of the greater good, they can find ways to compromise. With enough room for signing below or above, the main image makes the plea for common sense: “Sign on: Sacrifice Bunt as metaphor — Petition 4 compromise in government.”
