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goes to conservation and part of it goes back to the artist in Vietnam. That’s been a very powerful thing because you get the opportunity to get people a little bit of money. And once they get above survival mode they can start doing what they really want – what everybody wants –contribute to something bigger than themselves – give back to their society and their country.
JH: And I see that you pretty much do the same thing yourself in terms of commitment to your own community and the environment? PF: Yes for sure. I’ve always believed that if you don’t work on something bigger than yourself you are not bigger than yourself and it’s a humbling thing to think about.
JH: As you mentioned before, you are now working mostly in abstracted form. What is it about this that gives you the amount of pleasure you get from it? Is it an intellectual, tactile, or visual aesthetic pleasure – what really moves you down that path? PF: I think as I mature, they all sort of blend in as one. Definitely tactile and visual – looking at something that is simple and seeing forms that work for me at any scale, and then thinking about those things is fascinating because it kind of ties me into how everything is connected.
JH: Certainly you are a connected kind of a guy in the way you work in your community.
I
know you have a couple of projects that you work on and actually had some information about that in SculpturesPacific before. Can you tell me a bit about the project you’re working on in Castlegar? PF: Yeah. We have a project called SculptureWalk, and it’s a catalyst for building culture in the community around public art and
being able to use public art as a catalyst for downtown revitalization, community economic development, and cultural tourism. In simple terms, it is a way of giving everybody in the community equal access to public art, to be able to go downtown, slow down and have some awe and look at some of the great talent we have here in North America. Sculptors are able to put their pieces on loan for a year and then the public actually votes on the pieces; the winning piece is then purchased by the City. It’s an easy and safe way for a municipality to get involved in public art without any controversy.
It’s a great opportunity –
whether you are from the food bank or CEO of a corporation, you get equal access to public art and have someplace to discuss this. In our busy lives and the cyberspace we live in, it’s just one way to slow down and start talking with each other. That is one of the neat things about what’s been happening in this community – the recognition that there are all kinds of people that would like to contribute but don’t know how to connect with other people. So this project becomes a tool to help people feel good about themselves. And now there have been spin-offs. For example, downtown developers have donated lots that were turned into green spaces with community gardens. We’ve had construction people donate expertise and talent. We had a sand sculpture event as well. All of these things are building connections. Weaker links and strong links are linked to hubs and to the community of power, so we get ideas leading to innovation and innovation linked to development. So now the business community supports the cultural community. This is now creating the catalyst to bring people into the community, which will help business. This is how it’s all linked together.
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