BRIDGEPORT — Palmisano Park is a source of neighborhood pride and a haven of tranquility in an otherwise industrial stretch of Halsted Street.
It's also a fitting place to host Indira Johnson's "Ten Thousand Ripples" public art project, which displays fiberglass Buddha head sculptures in locations throughout the city.
In addition to Palmisano Park, 2700 S. Halsted St., another one of Johnson's sculptures will be placed in Lincoln Park. Both are expected to be installed by the end of the week.
Casey Cora says the sculpture will be a perfect fit for Palmisano Park:
The city chose the South Side park, 2700 S. Halsted St., as a host location earlier this month as part of a larger project bringing new artist-donated sculptures to the Museum Campus, Buckingham Fountain and the Lakefront near 48th Street.
Born in India, Johnson is the daughter of a social activist mother and a father who authored a biography of Gandhi. The self-described peace activist message of "nonviolence through art" earned her a "Chicagoan of the Year" designation by Chicago Magazine.
On her website, Johnson said much of her inspiration comes from "transitory, ritualistic Indian folk art practices which I've used to address issues of labor, domestic violence, nonviolence and health education, adapting them to operate within contemporary experiences thus evolving a hybrid version of the original traditions."
She has said her vision for the Ten Thousand Ripples project, originally installed at the Chicago Cultural Center, was to place the statues in neighborhoods around Chicago, especially in storefronts and abandoned lots.
The Pilsen-based nonprofit Changing Worlds helped fund the art project's expansion to a handful of city and suburban neighborhoods.
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