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Copyright © 1997 by Nancy McCarthy
All rights reserved. Inquiries should be addressed to
Twelve Star Publishing, P.O. Box 123, Jefferson, MD 21755
In this world , there is a new harmony in the air because
people no longer view themselves as conquerors or servants. Instead,
they recognize themselves as unique, essential pieces of a grand
mosaic. Each is different, but all are the same. The value and
dignity of each person is self-evident, and there is no question
of status or rank, only that of choice and preference.
A community of the future, to be sure. But one that grows
closer to reality every day, thanks to the efforts of two artistic
visionaries. The space between here and there is not too great,
and the work of building bridges is well underway. One stone at
a time, one heart at a time. That is how great things are built.
William M. Cochran: The Community
Bridge Mural Project.
The bridge William M. Cochran "built" is something
of an illusion. A fitting metaphor it is, however, for in the
building of this bridge, he attempts to shatter the illusion of
separateness. According to Bill, humanity is like an old stone
bridge, where each and every stone is unique - no two are exactly
the same in size, color, or shape, but each is an irreplaceable
part of the whole bridge.
Cochran is a muralist, well-known for his "Angels
in the Architecture" series adorning historic walls in downtown
Frederick. Since 1993, Cochran and his assistants have been creating
the Community Bridge, a concrete bridge painted in a "trompe
l'oiel" ("fools the eye") style mural. It was his
vision to begin the process of uniting our community of people
through a common goal, to create a public artwork for all to enjoy,
which expresses what community means to them. You see, Bill recognizes
that our differences are superficial, and that public art can
be used as a medium for uniting folks from every neighborhood
Working in partnership with Shared Vision, a non-profit
organization dedicated to public art for community transformation,
Bill put out the call, "What object represents the spirit
of community to you?" The responses were everything they'd
hoped for and more. A thousand people from every walk of life
mailed in their ideas.
The Carroll Street Bridge, one block south of the center
of downtown Frederick, is complete with an intricate iron gate,
a neoclassical sculpture in an architectural niche, a marble fountain,
and over a hundred trompe l'oiel stone carvings which represent
the ideas from the community. The most recent addition, featured
on the cover of issue #5 ofearthlight! It is an anamorphic
projection, a technique which was first created by Da Vinci and
is rarely used today. "The Angel of the Bridge" is designed
to be viewed from a sharp angle so a front-facing view appears
distorted. This beautiful and fascinating painting is best viewed
from the "X" inside the Delaplane Arts Center.
The Carroll Street Bridge, this illusionary, metaphorical,
real bridge is already creating common ground.
More information about the Community Bridge may be obtained
from:
The year 1993 marked the advent of another "bridge"
construction project. Common
Ground on the Hill was founded on the premise that there is
common thread in our various artistic traditions, and by following
this thread, a pathway towards human unity, understanding, tolerance,
fulfillment and enjoyment may be found.
Walt Michael, Founder of Common Ground on the Hill, is
a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who is as comfortable at
a coal camp in the hills of Appalachia, as he is on NBC's Tonight
Show. It was Walt's vision, to organize a traditional music and
arts center whose purpose is to offer a quality learning experience
with master musicians, artists, and crafts people while exploring
cultural diversity in search of "common ground" among
racial, ethnic, gender, age and racial groups. Michael believes,
and has indeed shown, that peaceful solutions to our cultural
and inner conflicts can be found in artistic traditions.
For one special week each summer, Western Maryland College
hosts the Common Ground on the Hill main event. This year, (1997)
during the week of July 6-11, students may select from an impressive
array of artistic workshops in instrumental and vocal music, songwriting
and performance, visual arts and crafts, dance, creative writing,
and a pot pourri of human arts and special gatherings. "World
Village" welcomes children 5-8 and 9-12 to experience music,
dance, drama, crafts, and recreation from the traditions of many
different cultures from here and around the world.
Walt Michael's vision of the integration of different cultural
traditions is more important now than ever before. As the mistaken
American trend to "celebrate cultural diversity" perpetuates
cultural divisiveness. Common Ground seeks to reverse this trend,
to move the global society again toward the concept of equality
and integration of opportunity.
Walt Michael's vision proved to be a real one on recent
winter evening. The place was a restaurant in the mountains outside
of Vienna, Austria. The Carroll County Common Ground Mass Choir
was there, anticipating the commencement of The International
Advent Sing. Seated in the space beside them was a group of Russian
singers.
The Russian women sang a song or two, and the Americans
responded in like kind. Before long, a spontaneous concert was
being sung; American gospel and spirituals and Russian popular
and classical songs were shared. With no common language with
which to communicate, the two groups created a community out of
total strangers simply by sharing the practice of their arts.
This sense of community between the two groups lasted the entire
week, punctuated in the end by a tearful goodbye, despite the
lack of common language.
This was the embodiment of the vision of Walt Michael,
and this is our future.
More information about Common Ground on the Hill may be
obtained from: