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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, New York City ----August 6, 2002               

PUBLIC SCULPTURE IN KANAZAWA, JAPAN, LINKS ALL PEOPLE AND ALL NATIONS               

July 10 -15, 2002 In a public art project that spans continents, language and age, New York artist Neil Tetkowski collaborated with 100 people ages 1-100 in Kanazawa, Japan to create "Jidai no Keisho". or "Generations in Time." "Jedai" is part of Tetkowski’s long running "Common Ground World Project," a unique and ambitious undertaking involving all 188 United Nations Member States.

The heart of the Common Ground World Project is what Tetkowski calls the "world clay" which is made up of clay and sand samples from each UN country combined to form a single "world clay." The clay was then used to create the "World Mandala Monument," the first sculpture in the Project’s series, which was recently displayed at the United Nations. "Jedai" used 100 pounds of "world clay" mixed with clay from the city of Kanazawa. The city has had a supportive role in the Project from the beginning, donating Japan's clay sample.

Like the Common Ground World Project itself, "Jedai" is an elegant and simple concept with meaningful and complex roots. Over two days, residents and visitors of Kanazawa both Japanese and foreign, came to put their handprints in cut slabs of clay. By the end, 100 people aged 1 to 100 had their prints immortalized for the ages in sequential order. The slabs were then put together to make a beautiful, striking mandala that truly spanned the generations.
"Jedai" will reside in Kanazawa as a permanent installation where all can stop to reflect on the passing of time and the flow of generations. The city of Kanazawa, well-known in Japan, provides a fitting home for the sculpture as it is a city of beauty, committed to positive international relations and encouraging of the arts. This is a place where traditional Japanese life, culture and arts seamlessly blend into our modern world, where you can feel and see the passing of the ages in daily life.

The piece was commissioned by Kanazawa to commemorate the 40-year anniversary and celebration of their sister city relationship with Buffalo, New York, which is the hometown of Tetkowski. Members of a delegation visiting from Buffalo offered their handprints to the piece in a showing of friendship between the two cities and the two countries. However, the piece’s significance and message radiates far beyond Kanazawa and Buffalo with a message of peace and creativity. As shown in the success of "Jedai," art is a universal language that allows boundaries and borders to fall away.

PHOTOS: "Generations in Time"

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