Soldiers' Angels New York

Link: http://www.sablogs.com/index.php?blog=46&title=cal_battle

Caledonia, New York. A sleepy little town in a rural area about 20 miles southwest of Rochester. Population ~4,500. A place where the biggest news in the past few years was a Subway Restaurant going in. Until now.

The site of this Soldiers' Monument, is now the site of a battle between a "local artist" (from a town about 18 miles away), the Village of Caledonia, the Veterans of Caledonia, and the ACLU.

This monument, unveiled June 13, 1900, with numerous distinguished guests in attendance, including Governor Roosevelt. It has the names of soldiers from the town who died in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 inscribed on it. It sits in the very center of the town, in the center of the main intersection, traffic goes around it. In the summer, flowers are planted around the base and American flags around it. It is part of the very fabric of this village. In the year 2000, the town and village proudly celebrated the 100 year anniversary of the monument with a parade, a reenactment of the original dedication ceremony, and a community choir singing patriotic tunes.

In March of 2005, an artist from a different town, a Ms. Cindy DeFelice, approached the Village board with a proposal to erect a temporary art exhibit around the monument. The plan was for a four sided stepped terrace be built around it with planted dandelions, completely covering almost the entire monument, up to the statue's feet. In August, the village approved it. However, after objections from Veterans, the Village Board voted unanimously at the September 06, 2005 Board Meeting to cancel the project. Veteran's claim that her projects are anti-war and disrespectful of the fallen soldiers and to Veterans in general.

A new project was born. "Let Them Eat Cake" was approved at the October 4th meeting. This is a plan for an outdoor garden-style layout on Main Street near the monument including real bakers serving celebratory cakes. The live participatory exhibit requires that the state highway be shut down for a few hours beginning at dusk. It is scheduled for April 15, 2006. In a newspaper article in the county paper, the artist had the audacity to dedicate it to a local Vietnam Veteran who is opposed to her "project". There has been an uproar at the village meetings with the majority of the people opposed to these projects. The wife of the Veteran to whom it was dedicated stated that it is an insult and a shame and embarrassment to her husband. The board voted to move the project away from the monument.

In today's news, the artist has asked for help from the ACLU. She says her project is site specific and loses meaning if the monument is not part of it. She claims that by moving the location, they have censored her.

Hey, Cindy, why don't you go do your "art" in your own town? Maybe because you have to live there and you don't want to alienate your neighbors? Or maybe because the monuments and war memorials in your town aren't in the middle of the street, and nobody would know that you were doing it there?

Stay tuned.

Update: More pictures and a few more details here.

A 2nd Update here.

Linked at Mudville Gazette Open Post.