The Seed (Sembrar)
Do you remember the first time you ever attempted to create a piece of art? For most of us, it was likely in preschool, our grandparent’s home, or perhaps summer camp… but this was not the case for George Rodriguez. His first attempt at creating art was in his sixties, just over two years ago, during an art class for elders that his partner, Edna, suggested they take together.
The class of roughly 15 people, led by teaching artist Migel Antonio Horn, focused on sculpture and monuments, which was a part of the Creative Aging program at Fleisher Art Memorial for adults 55 and over. “The accumulated youth (Juventud Acumulada)… We refuse to call ourselves senior citizens,” said Edna. “When I took this class, I learned so much about monuments. Then we had our project… for each of us to build a monument, and I had no idea where I could even start. So, I just copied my partner. She made a tree, and so I made a tree.” George laughed. Little did he know that tree would grow into something much more.
The Cultivation (Cultivar)
“At the beginning, it was like, let’s just explore. So we did a couple of field trips across the city, went and looked at other monuments that were representative of different cultures, things that were in public spaces, and why these occupied those spaces and the validity of them,” said Horn. “So each artist kind of developed their own piece. It was a very individual thing. They were very personal projects.” Unfortunately, trying to find homes for each individual’s monument wasn’t practical. Instead, Fleisher requested that the class create a collaborative piece that could be installed there. “Working collaboratively is hard, even with like-minded individuals. We had five weeks to basically come up with a proposal. Every day we met, they sat together at a table and batted ideas around…the themes were all there. The most beautiful thing is they were always centered by what they wanted to do, who they wanted to raise up and represent,” he added. ”We worked on the project, but we were like a family. So we started just bringing food. Each time we would get together, we would work with these great meals! This person’s specialty and that person’s specialty!” said Edna Santiago.
The Harvest (Cosechar)
On October 11, 2024, after about two years and countless roadblocks with funding and approvals, Obed San Martín, Graciela Avendano, George Rodriguez, Edna Santiago, Marwill Nieves, Nicolás Avendano, and their instructor Miguel Antonio Horn finally saw their monument installed. Aptly titled “Sembrar, Cultivar, y Cosechar” (Sow, Cultivate, and Harvest), The piece, sitting high up on the outer wall, is indeed monumental. Two enormous beautiful golden brown arms embracing six colorful transparent seeds like a grandmother’s hug. Warm, protective, loving and accepting. As Mar will simply put it, “The arms are the welcome to everyone… like family… a hug. And who doesn’t need a hug?”
