If she was doing it for the attention and the accolades, she was doing it for the wrong reasons.
Inspired by the great Tommy Douglas and the Canadian concept of free medical care, Ontario-based artist Lea Vivot decided to sculpt a unique work of art in honor of medicare's founder - Douglas. She approached the community of Weyburn where Douglas is from and where she wanted the sculpture to lie at rest. She suggested her idea and hyped up the community. So much so they set about fundraising to acquire the $30,000 Vivot requested for materials to create the lasting legacy.
Money in hand, Vivot then set about her work and last week the art piece was unveiled in Weyburn. Douglas's famous actor son Keifer Sutherland even turned out to attend the event.
A plus for attention right? Well it was, EXCEPT, Keifer stole the thunder from the artist. Rather than focus on the sculpture, media opted to turn the event more into a celebrity sighting kind of affair.
So that said, I can somewhat see Vivot's point and disappointment. "To me, the unveiling of a sculpture is like a baptism of a child. You honour the art, and the spirit of life of the one that the monument is dedicated to," she told the Leader-Post on Saturday.
"It is not a self-serving ceremony." Vivot feels so slighted that she's considering uprooting the Douglas statue and sending it to Scotland. She'll make a decision this coming week.
The artist says she was inspired to make the monument to Douglas after being injured in a car accident, and then receiving free medical care. The experience led her to learn more about Douglas and made her realize, "this was a man that deserves to be immortalized." If these were truly the reasons she did what she did, then as far as I'm concerned Vivot should suck it up and carry on. Is she prepared to refund the $30,000 to the Weyburn residents who worked so hard to gather the money together? Vivot knew full well before the unveiling that Sutherland would be in attendance. She was also photographed smiling brightly by his side. In the end was it all really a publicity stunt? People are people, they tend to get caught up in Hollywood hype and media will be media, reporters will try to capture what sells. But when all is said and done, the statue will remain as a lasting legacy in honor of a special individual. If you ask me, the artist garnered more attention than she would have had Keifer not bothered to come and really, when all the hype subsides, the art (and the man) will be honored. Was that not the ultimate goal?
