In early May, a statue of folksinger Pete Seeger was unveiled at the Puffin Foundation in Teaneck, NJ. It
took me several weeks, but I finally had a chance over a week ago to get out
there and snap this photo.
Seeger (1919-2014) inspired such later musicians as
Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Byrds and Bruce Springsteen (who
paid tribute to him, in no uncertain terms, with his 2006 collection of
traditional songs, The Seeger Sessions). But
he also contributed to the civil-rights, anti-war and environmental movements.
The bronze image by sculptor Gary Sussman depicts
the folksinger-activist seated and smiling, with a banjo at his feet. You
half-expect the image to lead those around him in a sing-along, maybe one of his
songs, like "If I Had a Hammer," "Where Have All the Flowers
Gone?" "Turn Turn Turn," or "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy."
. If he did, it would most likely be in
the service of a cause, in the form of carved protest figures holding signs:
"End Jim Crow," "Solidarity," "Abraham Lincoln
Brigade."
No comments:
Post a Comment