Not bullish about Blackhawks jersey, Reebok skates on Jordan

By Greg Wyshynski

It’s been made fairly clear in the last two seasons that Chicago celebrates the Stanley Cup Playoffs by placing hockey sweaters on large, immobile objects: Like a Brachiosaurus or a mighty lion guarding an art gallery or Jim Belushi.

The celebration has reached new heights as the Chicago Blackhawks prepare to host Game 1 of the Finals against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night: a Jonathan Toews(notes) jersey and a pair of skates on the Michael Jordan statue outside United Center. From Mouthpiece Sports, a lingering look at what has some Chicago and Jordan fans upset:

Now, the real Michael Jordan has been seen at a Blackhawks playoff game wearing a No. 23 jersey during last postseason. But the application of a ‘Hawks jersey on the Jordan statue outside has caused a backlash from sports purists. Here’s Brian Dryfhout of Mouthpiece Sports:

Not sure about this one but the fine folks at the United Center placed a Jonathan Toews jersey on the Michael Jordan statue. Personally I don’t think you should ever cover up the Jordan #23 with any other jersey. They should just leave that to the Picasso, dinosaur and lions.

Christopher Botta of AOL FanHouse saw it as disrespecting a living person:

It’s one thing to drape the Blackhawks’ logo and colors over just about anything — a bridge, a park bench, a skyscraper — but Jordan is a person. A Zdeno Chara(notes) jersey over the statue of Larry Bird in Boston would seem just as odd.

The backlash is, of course, silly.

Jordan clearly supports the local team, and the temporary novelty of a hockey jersey on his statue is exactly that: temporary. It’s not as if they’ve chiseled a mullet onto him.

Besides, if Michael Jordan was going to be outraged about anything, it’d be the corporate sponsor of the skates “he” is wearing outside the arena. Please recall the God of Nike actually covering up the Reebok logos on his Blackhawks jersey last spring. Something tells us we might see another swooshing change coming to his statue gear.

Utanna a beautiful 6 year old Red Tailed hawk made a visit to the big statues studio today. The hawk who is cared for by Matt Finch is being used as a model for the new hawk statue that is headed to Florida. It was a wonderful experience to see the large raptor in person and I know that the photos and measurements will help me with the clay work. I am excited to be a part of the this project and look forward to creating the bronze hawk statue.

Pearland Public Safety Building Grand Opening Set
The Police News

Big Statues has been involved with several monuments to fallen officers over the year. We are proud to announce the our latest police bronze statue in Pearland, Texas it will be unveiled this Saturday in honor of Police week. Police organizations all over the country are dedicated to honoring the men and women that risk their lives everyday to protect communities nationwide. In Salt lake city the efforts have been wonderful.

SALT LAKE CITY — Tuesday, Salt Lake County honored its police officers who died in the line of duty over the years, and those who stepped up and served with distinction.

Each year the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office, which is now the Unified Police Department, pays tribute to the deputies who died in the line of duty. At a separate ceremony, the department honored officers who showed great courage. Among those, several officers who helped take down a dangerous shooter.

On June 26, 2009, at the Cottonwood Apartment complex, a man on a balcony fired off about a dozen shots.

“He had been firing at random through apartments while we were still pinned down by gunfire,” said Unified police Sgt. Lex Bell, also the incident commander that day.

Bell says situations that dangerous are rare.

“Ongoing imminent threat of death, what they call an active shooter scenario: the Trolley Square. This is the same thing,” Bell said.

Officers contained that threat, and Bell courageously saved an injured worker trapped in a stairwell. Meantime, Unified police Sgt. Randy Thomas was called on to get into position with his weapon.

“I could still hear shots being fired,” Thomas said. “I could tell it was an active and very dynamic situation. So, I was basically required to gear up and go toward the sound of gunfire.”

When the suspect raised his gun towards SWAT members, Thomas killed the suspect with a single shot.

“It’s unfortunate to have to take a man’s life,” Thomas said. “That’s probably the hard part of this; but it is nice to be amongst colleagues and be recognized for a situation you had to step into.”

Both men say they followed their training and did their jobs. Both received the Medal of Distinction.

Earlier in the day, Sheriff Jim Winder honored two officers killed in the line of duty in two other counties.

“The last several months in law enforcement in the state of Utah have been extremely difficult,” Winder said.

No Salt Lake County officers have died in years, but other counties have felt the pain. Millard County Deputy Josie Greathouse Fox was gunned down in the line of duty in January. Sevier County Sheriff’s Sgt. Franco Aguilar died while helping at a traffic accident along Interstate 70 two weeks ago. Winder attended both funerals.

“They brought forward a sea of emotion that I still feel today,” Winder said.

The sheriff praised their choices to serve their communities, in spite of danger.

“They run towards the danger when others run away,” Winder said. “They’re protecting something. They’re protecting our society and culture, but they do so with a full heart and full knowledge of the risks.”

Salt Lake County has not lost an officer in the line of duty in many years. Eleven deputies and two crossing guards have died in the line of duty in the more than 150 year history of the department.

The department honored about 80 officers, civilians and volunteers Tuesday. Others honored include a deputy who rescued three people from a burning home, the all-volunteer Salt Lake/Carbon county cadaver dog team and the family crimes unit — which investigates cases involving child abuse, sexual abuse, elder abuse, domestic violence and missing persons.

Winder also honored Esekia Afatasi with the Deputy of the Year Award for working to reduce youth gang involvement.

E-mail: jboal@ksl.com

Although contemporary art refers to art of both the late 20th and early 21st century, it has experienced a resurgence in popularity over the last few years. People who are new to the art world are often attracted to this form of sculpture because it tends to speak to their situations and lifestyles in a way that art doesn’t always do. Many artists specializing in contemporary sculpture are making a state ament about the current state of our world, and present a commentary on our priorities of modern society. One style of contemporary art that may people are widely familiar with is “pop” art as exemplified by the work of Andy Warhol.

One such artist who utilizes art to provide social commentary is world-renowned sculptor Robin Antar. She creates works of art out of everyday items such as denim jeans as well as household and food products. By making these dispensable items essentially timeless by capturing them in a form that will last for a very long time, she is demonstrating the importance of the everyday.

This is the key difference with certain forms of contemporary sculpture that sets it apart from other forms of art. By creating a 3-dimensional object that simulates a common object that could be found in most households, many people are now finally able to relate to art in a way that may have seemed out of touch in the past.

Although each artist creates art for their own reasons, it could be argued that one of the reasons that some artists are attracted to the contemporary style is because they able to communicate to the art admirer on a very basic level. This is especially important because many people may find fine art to be intimidating or difficult to understand. In some situations, this may be because the piece of art is very personal to the artist and the artist may find it challenging to express themselves in a manner that is inclusive. In fact, many people feel that art is not meant to be completely understood, and can at the most only be appreciated from a distance.

However, when an artist decides that they will take a common object and represent it in different form than it is usually seen, they are making a point of building a relationship with the observer. Because the sculpting process allows the piece of art to last indefinitely, the disposable becomes for all intents and purposes, permanent. This fact combined with an ordinary, everyday object chosen as the model for the piece of contemporary sculpture ensure that this type of art can be appreciated by both the very sophisticated and the admirer who is new to the art world.

Not all forms of art necessarily seek to express social commentary, but in many cases, contemporary art does fill this void. In particular, contemporary sculpture can create an opportunity to see a common object in a very different manner that allows you to question your assumptions and possibly understand the art and the artist in a way that previously seemed impossible.

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