2023-06-23 23:32:44
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This summer you might stumble across some brightly colored cows in the Boston area. These are part of a public art installation called CowParade; this particular parade benefits the Jimmy Fund.
Suzanne Fountain is the Vice President of the Jimmy Fund. This year they celebrate 75 years and decided that the cows would be a fun way to celebrate the occasion, “they have messages of hope, love and of course dedications to all our sports teams,” she says.
It takes a giant team to accomplish this kind of thing: 60 artists ranging in age from 10 to 82, 20% of them people of color, 55% women, all coming together to create something inspiring.
Maryann Zschau was responsible for finding the artists and getting the project off the ground. The painting process began in January, “I was here two or three times a week to see them transform 75 white cows that we had here now into 75 painted cows a few days ago,” Zschau said.
The artists come from different backgrounds and have different motivations for participating in the event.
Ari hoods is a public high school teacher at Melvin H. King South End Academy in Boston and an artist living in the Fort Point neighborhood. When contacted regarding the Cow Parade, he thought it would be a great opportunity to bring his students in for the experience.
“We have a teacher, Ms. Burrell, who was treated by Dana-Farber and really went for her, they saved her life. And so our students are directly connected to this organization through their experience,” Hauben says.
“With my students, what we try to do is build cultural capital, which is essentially for them to find their place in the world. And I think when you can do it in a way that’s also good and shows them how art fits into the world and also gives them access to things they wouldn’t otherwise see. And they are like here, they participate in the world and then they become a kind of better administrators in society, “added the artist.
His cows, one adult and one calf, are named Boston and Public, following his district and students. Both statues are covered in words created with laser-cut stencils and spray paint.
“We worked with the English department just to choose words that I think allow for the reflection of our students’ experience within a kind of Boston Public School and then also a kind of reflection on Dana-Farber and Jimmy, I mean, and You can see some things like, you know, power and imagination and progress and unity.”
“There is nothing more beautiful than using your art to help this group of people who works daily to help many people. And there is nothing more beautiful than that,” he said. Franklin Marval.
Marval is an artist and community activist who works in Humphreys Street Studios in Dorchester. He was commissioned along with several others for the project. His cow, titled “More Love Is Fine,” is all regarding the heart and hope for a bright future.
He said he’s happy to be a part of the project because it represents the good things that can happen when people come together.
Your cow will be placed under the Citgo banner.
“We like to be a part of things like this doing something different for a good cause,” artists Elson and Wilson Fortes, who work in Dorchester and own a small business called CrazyGoodz, they decided to use the Celtics as an inspiration to give back to the community. Her cow, named Lucky, is covered in newspaper clippings from Celtics coverage dating back to the 1980s, and she wears a custom-made CrazyGoodz jersey.
“We decided to do the Celtics because we live in Boston, we’re from Boston, so we wanted to have something that represented the whole history of Boston, especially when it comes to the Celtics,” Wilson explained.
“You can see the progress of a franchise, the story behind it, and you can see what makes the Celtics great,” Elson added.
“If you look at any part of the cow, regardless of whether you were born in the eighties or before, even before the eighties up to now, you can see that it can pinpoint where you were at a specific time. And that’s one of the things that we tried to incorporate. So it’s basically like a documentary.”
On the day of our interview, the brothers were hand-sewing Lucky’s T-shirt, a meticulous job following adding the newspaper clippings piece by piece.
All of these stories and inspirations come together at the VDA in Somerville, where the cows are packed up and ready for their adventure.
David Breen, lead designer and founder of VDA has personal reasons for getting involved, “My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer 12 years ago and she’s still here thanks to Dana Farber,” he said.
He adds that offering his space and seeing the energy that surrounds him makes him proud.
“I’d say they’re putting in a good 40 or 50 hours once morest the cows, maybe even more. It’s really quite the level of detail, it’s amazing,” he said.
The cows are sponsored or auctioned off, with the proceeds going to the fight once morest cancer. They will be on display in the greater Boston area from June 24 to September 4.
You can learn more regarding CowParade here.
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