Lawrence will spend about $3,000 to make and send gifts to its two sister cities during the next year and a half.
The nearly identical statues, titled "Eternal Spring," were created by Lawrence artists Jan Gaumnitz and Jonah Seibel. Gaumnitz developed the design and did the finishing work while Seibel did the welding of the statue's structure.
The first statue, which recently was finished, will be given to Eutin, Germany, in honor of that city's 750th anniversary. The second statue, which hasn't been started, will be given to Hiratsuka, Japan, sometime in 2008 as part of the two cities' ongoing cultural exchange. The Lawrence Sister Cities Advisory Board approved spending money on the second statue at its meeting earlier this month.
"We're trying to build bridges between the cities and help our young people visit other places," said Gina Ross, who is chairwoman of the advisory board.
Gaumnitz said the idea behind the statues was to communicate a feeling of renewal. To convey that concept, Gaumnitz designed the statue with a spiral shape.
"Plants grow in spirals in the spring. The statue curves and reaches up to the heavens," Gaumnitz said.
Lawrence also is giving Eutin a second gift "to celebrate all of the exchanges we've had," Ross said. The second gift will be a "gift of music," which will include several Lawrence singers traveling to the German city and performing at various locations. The Lawrence Children's Choir performed in Eutin last summer and was met with such a warm reception that this new idea was conceived, Ross said.
The statue for Hiratsuka is to be given as part of a celebration every five years of the sister city relationship. The 15th anniversary of Lawrence and Hiratsuka's relationship is in 2008, Ross said.
In 1999, the friendship garden north of the Watkins Community Museum of History, 1047 Mass., was dedicated as a celebration of the friendship between Lawrence and Hiratsuka, advisory board member Bill Keel said.
"I'm sure they spent well over $5,000 for that park," Keel said.
Lisa Patterson, Lawrence communications manager, said it was impossible to assign a value to the gifts in the garden and the garden itself. Hiratsuka provided the $5,000, then the advisory board raised nearly $25,000 from the Lawrence community, she said.
"When the park was nearly completed, Hiratsuka sent along the art pieces" that finished the park, Patterson said.
Eutin has given Lawrence artwork that, along with artwork from Hiratsuka, is on the fourth floor of City Hall.
The statue that will be given to Eutin is on display at the Max Kade Center for German-American Studies on the Kansas University campus.
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roger_o_thornhill (anonymous) says…
How much did the city pay for statue "gift to self" in front of the N. Lawrence depot. Wasn't it some ungodly amount like $200,000?
gccs14r (anonymous) says…
I've not seen the statue, but it's money well spent, IMO.
A city without art is a city without soul. If you want to know what that looks like, visit East Berlin. It's better now after reunification and the infusion of billions of euros, but the Soviet-era bland architecture remains, a stark reminder of the effects of ignoring aesthetics when building cities.
Government has *always* sponsored the arts, because individuals can't afford to. Be happy that someone else is considerate of your emotional well being, because you're apparently unwilling to look out for it yourself.