Local Sculptor Gary Lee Price provides update on Statue of Responsibility
The Statue of Responsibility will be a 300 ft. tall monument on the west coast of the United States. This icon is the brainchild of Viktor Frankl, the holocaust survivor and author of “Man’s Search for Meaning”. It was in this book that he suggested that the Statue of Liberty be “bookended” by a Statue of Responsibility. He further suggested that if we do not become a more responsible America, we will be at risk of losing our freedoms. We get to ask ourselves if our freedoms are important to us. What price are we willing to pay to ensure the freedoms of our grandchildren and their children?
The project and its accompanying “movement” has been birthed right here in Utah. In fact, the Utah State Legislature passed a recurring resolution recognizing Utah as the “Official Birthplace of the Statue of Responsibility” in 2010. Local sculptor, Gary Lee Price has been commissioned to create the massive monument.
As of March 2013, the project was placed in the hands of a new foundation, Responsibility Foundation Inc., a California 501c3 (pending) Corporation. This foundation has successfully engaged a group of highly successful and capable board members as well as a world renowned Advisory Council. The group is currently holding fund raising/awareness events across the country. There are events being held here in Utah as well. Locally the artist is hosting events at his studio in Mapleton two Monday nights per month. (Check the website www.statueofresponsibility.org for dates and times) The public is invited to attend. The Foundation is also interested in sharing the message at community, business and private events. Please contact Leesa Clark- Price to set up an event. (801-687-1770)
The Sculptor recently completed a 15 ft. clay version of the Statue of Responsibility on the campus at Utah Valley University. (UVU) That version has now had a mold made from it and the foundation is in the process of identifying the final sponsors in order to have it cast and placed on campus there at UVU. It will be the first one to be installed.
The monument will also be the first monument that the group is aware of to be dedicated to the future. Unlike other monuments and memorials that are dedicated to events and persons from the past. As part of that message the Statue itself will be created in part from recycled aluminum. A program will be in place to encourage all school children to get involved by collecting aluminum cans and participating in the “It’s My Responsibility” program in their individual schools. Once a school has completed the program, the names of the children in that school will be saved and displayed in a Kiosk at the 300 ft. statue upon completion. Those who help create the monument can take their children and grandchildren to see their names listed there many years from now.
In addition, the monument and grounds will be powered with green energy and the area around the monument itself will be the home to many “hands on” experiences, including, community self-sustaining gardening, recycling and alternate energy
methods. This monument will be a place for the public to experience our nation’s rich history and heritage as well. The purpose for this is to ignite a conversation and initiate educational programs that will inspire and empower the youth of today (as well as the adults) about our responsibilities not only to our freedoms but our responsibilities to our country and our planet.
It’s more than a Monument, it’s a Movement! Join the movement- be a part of history as well as a part of what “Unites America!”
www.statueofresponsibility.org