Happy Homecoming?

Homecoming in the sixties was an event. Greeks decorated their houses and were represented in the annual Homecoming Parade. In 1959, I was a freshman and had met a group of students who were an amorphous bunch called Independent Students. They had rejected the Greek System, but gathered together to be a loose knit group. The Independents needed a float for the Homecoming Parade and I was enlisted to round up other kids to get the job done. I recall driving around the dorms: Wilson and Wiebking and the other smaller women's residences looking for recruits. At that time most students only came to Colorado State College to whip through a basic Education curriculum and get into a classroom. Zip Zap.. a neighbor of mine attended summer school and did her BA in three years!

Point being that no one stayed on campus. Virtually everyone went home to spend the weekends with family and the comfort zone of where they'd come from to Greeley. I wonder if everyone goes home these days? Fifty years hence?

Understanding that the City of Greeley and the university is probably the same politically as it was all those years ago is becoming clear. I realize that I can't force progressive thought where the safety of representational art and familiar ideas still live. I just wish that there was one voice for progress that might respond to my strong desire to donate my tribute to Totem Teddy to the college.

Years ago there was a big controversy down in Denver when a Blue Ribbon Committee made up of arts experts were engaged to help decide upon public art for a new university campus there. They reviewed entries for two years or more and finally awarded the prize of an installation to an abstract artist who had created a piece called Athena. Athena was a huge sort of yellow Mrs. Potato Head with three dimensional representations of learning bursting from her. The outcry was incredible! Finally, the Colorado Arts Council met to discuss the work. One member of this politically appointed group made a statement that I'll never forget. He just couldn't 'get' that the controversy was a big part of the art.. it was undeniable.. it was outrageous and strangely beautiful. His comment was that for the kind of money that the State of Colorado was going to pay this artist they could get some "'really good art"" like the Buffaloes at Stapleton" which.. I believe, his wife had made.. bronze bison, life size.. standing at the old airport. "Really Good Art!" indeed.

I've been told by Greeley acquaintances that if it ain't representational, then chances are that it might not be embraced by UNC or the community. Some time ago an observer on this blog said that freshmen didn't have time to 'figure out abstract art.'

So.. there's a stuffed bear in a plastic box in the UC and a huge bronze bear squatting outside. Does anyone pay attention to them? Like them? Care?

I'd sure like to make a difference in Greeley and on my old campus. I really would.

Michael

Tradition in the 21st Century

As the class of 2014 arrives on the UNC campus, their traditions, I hope, will evolve with the leaders of their class. Of course, that's how most traditions take hold. Someone has an idea and acts on it. It might be solemn or it might be silly. If a tradition catches on and students embrace the idea of remembering their days on campus, passing the basic business of education, then there's a hook to hang your beanie on.

Freshman Beanies bit the dust over forty years ago. Kids today may be too sophisticated to bend that way ever again. Or, some bluenose may have decided it smacks of hazing!

Actually, the Freshman Handbook, that held the basic Rules of the Road for incoming students, was loaded with not only helpful facts, but recounted the history of the university. Freshmen were required to learn those facts and any upperclassman could quiz them on the information. It was a 'medium' of exchange that may have smacked a little of 'hazing' but it was a way for new students to be welcomed by students who had to learn the information when they were Freshmen. It was just a way to meet and greet in a good natured way.

In 1959 (God.. that seems like yesterday and at once a very long time ago) I was elected Vice President of the Freshman Class and loved bonding with the other kids who were immediately identifiable because of our beanies. Vicky Meyers was our Freshman Class secretary and seeing this bright young woman in a beanie was a major treat. Find the Cache La Poudre for 1960 and you'll see what I mean. We were all pretty cute, actually.

I wax nostalgic again. The halcyon days ... more innocent that this 21st Century, remain warm and truly wonderful to me. We were never made to bow down to Totem Teddy, but we knew his history and there was a certain pride in the image of the Bear Totem that appeared on ID cards and elsewhere.

These days I don't see much tradition. The UNC band, of course, is a unit that literally plays together. Playing, I think, passes the obvious and maybe it's the band that will rise to the idea that a rally point for tradition is a good one. I met some of the UNC band members a couple of years ago and their obvious joy in their music was wonderful.

So.. the school year begins. No beanies. No Freshman Handbook. No Bear Totem. No Homecoming Parade?? (I don't know about Homecoming these days? Do the Greeks decorate their houses? Make floats for the parade?) Is there anything that helps to bond the new kids with the returning students? How are they welcomed?

Finally, on point. I've been in touch with Dr. Andrew Svedlow, Dean of the UNC college of Performing and Visual Arts, as well Arts professor Lydia Ruyle regarding th Bear Totem and am learning lessons from them. What will it take to get the university on board? More support and open arms. Thanks to Lydia and Dr. Svedlow, as well as Dr. David Grapes and Mike Johnson, VP of Alumni Affairs.

Here's to the Class of 2014. Your graduation will herald the centennial of the arrival of the Bear Totem on Campus. That's something!

Michael Sheehan

Politically Correct?

Just re-read my last post. Yep.. I'm a nostalgic.

The last few weeks I'd hoped to chat with officials at UNC about my proposed art installation, but that has not happened. The blog has been pretty quiet and even though my idea remains steadfast, I'm hoping I can find the politically correct way to make a proposal to the powers that be on campus that will be acceptable.

I've not seen a lot of art on the Greeley campus. One impressive installation is a circle of huge 'hinges' that stand to the north of Gunter Hall that reflect the style of Claes Oldenburg. Of course, I love it and wonder what its history might be.

If I stabilize my cairn and install it, hopefully, on the old campus, I'd hope that discussion about what it is and why it's there would ensue.

School will be in session for Fall soon. It'll be interesting to hear proposals that the UNC Foundation may have received for an actual tribute to the Bear Totem.

Ideas?

Fifth of July

Recently, I realized that 'tradition' is simply nostalgia made manifest. Some of us are wired for a connection to sometimes silly stuff that reminds us of the past. Yesterday in Greeley was the Fourth of July Parade.. or whatever they call it these days. At this time of year I always think of the friends with whom I helped to build a float for the parade sponsored by the BPOE 809.. The Elks! Our Explorer Post 809 was depended upon to come up with a design and then execute it with a budget from the Elks Lodge. We did the Elks float for many years, usually being beaten out for first prize by the Rainbow Girls! The nostalgic memory I just had speaks to the simplicity of the times. The Elks Club had a credit account at a hardware store down on 8th Avenue. I needed a nut and bolt for something that cost a nickel! I'm remembering the patience with which ..possibly the store ownere.. filled out a receipt for the nickel and charged it to the Elks account. That might have been in 1955 or '56. Time flies.

I mention this because my idea to put my own artwork up as a tribute to Totem Teddy is something that I spark to from a very nostalgic point of view. My ego is involved, of course. I'm grateful that Judge Lynn Karowsky came up with the title "ReIncairnation" and I'm sticking with it. It's a connection to my past and I just don't want to let it go.

Recently, an official at UNC reminded me that it seems as though every department on campus has to look out for itself. I've been referred to UNC President Kay Norton and Dr. Abe Harraf Sr. VP and Provost of UNC, who may have final say about this idea. President Norton has not shown much interest in me or my artwork. I have not been in touch with Dr. Harraf.

I still can't understand why my donation of a relatively harmless work of art would be a big deal. I'm completely supportive of any idea to advance tradition on the UNC campus. My memories of growing up in Greeley are deep within me. It's my desire to spend my own time and money to install art which may be a source for discussion from what 'art is and what it's supposed to do' to whether or not it's even appropriate to remind people why we are the Bears.

I have enjoyed the acceptance of UNC over the years. Currently, I'm hoping that someone will see the value of my donation and will be a local champion to simply accept my gift.

This post may be a bit redundant. I do apologize. The goal is to simply keep the idea alive and to let readers know that I'm prepared to come to Greeley and make my contribution to Tradition at UNC.

Input here is always welcome. I'm always open to suggestions.

Michael

Surprise, Surprise

No sooner do I write to Mike Johnson than I get a nice email back saying that Totem Teddy has been discussed by alumni recently and there may be interest now to do something about my favorite UNC tradition.. or a tradition about to be re-born. It's been seven years since I embossed the original Totem Teddy, seven years since he went back to Alaska, five years since the Ghost Memory Totem was installed in the University Center thanks to the UC crew headed up by Ronna Sanchez, Jay Dinges and with the support of Michael Johnson. It's been two years since I removed that installation and donated it to the UNC Archives.

I hope that my version of the Bear Totem, as I've proposed and attempted to donate to the university, may be given a suitable place on campus. There's no reason why more than one piece of art may be installed, is there?

Actually, in the early 2000s when I first learned that Totem Teddy would be returned to the Tlingit, I started research to make castings of the original totem in anticipation of making a duplicate. A neighbor of mine, a special effects guy, is a sculptor who does life castings. His casting would have been expensive, including air fare and accommodations in Greeley. But, we could have had an accurate cast. Now, for a replica to be made, whether by a sculptor for a bronze or by a Native Carver, many photos and measurements will be necessary. I think, for a true to tradition reproduction, I'd suggest a Tlingit artisan.

The expense for a photo realistic replica will be more expensive now than it might have been in 2003, but if there are, at last, alumni who will pony up the funds, it will be exciting to help however I can. A bronze sculptor told me in 2005 that the bronze alone for a totem 13 feet tall and about five feet in circumference would cost more than $20,000. Of course, I still want to make my donation to UNC at my own expense, as I've said here. But, I'm happy that alums are now showing an interest.

Interesting that I went from sincerely advocating a bronze or a carved totem several years ago to my own version of the direct image of the totem and now to my current abstract idea, the ReIncarnation of Totem Teddy. Of course, that was because no one wanted to do the more expensive options and I just really wanted to do something before we lost the Bear all together.

To me, the Spirit of Totem Teddy will live as long as just one person retains an interest. The challenge now is to create an atmosphere where those actually living in Greeley, students, et al, will begin to appreciate for themselves, in their own ways, the deep feelings I've had for over sixty years. For me, nostalgia is like a warm breeze that, when it wafts gently in, carries us back to feelings that are reminded of in no other way. Have we become so cynical that alma mater is soon forgotten after graduation ? I really hope not.

Michael Sheehan
CSC '63

SUMMER SOLDIER

Yesterday, Friday, I wrote again to Mike Johnson at the UNC Foundation asking to renew a dialogue regarding the Totem Project. I've complained here about the stuffed bear in the plastic box that the former VP of Alumni Affairs saw fit to accept as a gift. I've moaned about the large bronze sitting on the north side of the University Center. Of course, what we appreciate as 'art' is subjective.

I want to do the Totem Project for two reasons. The first and foremost reason is to honor the Bear Totem. The second is personal.

I've chronicled here and elsewhere my first meeting Totem Teddy in 1946 when I was in kindergarten in the Lab School (Ernest Horne Elementary in Kepner Hall.) I just liked it. I've had a special place in my heart for it ever since. Thus, as an artist, my particular way of self expression in this case turns on my memories. Their expression in the forms I've created in the past, embossing the totem in 2003, installing The Ghost Memory Totem in 2005, removing the sculpture in 2008 are now only memories. The current idea is simple and organic. It has the potential to create new traditions that new students may come around to. Respect for tradition may be a dying ember, but it is still in me to try to spark new interest.

Folks at what was, in 1914, the Colorado State Normal School, had no idea that our totem may have been of questionable origin. It was a beautiful gift from a grateful alumnus. Totem Teddy became the embodiment of the institution who adopted the Bear as its mascot.

To me the events of the early 2000's were like a family discovering a lost child who had grown up with an adopted family. Suddenly, the true parents appeared and just took the child "home." Totem Teddy may or may not have memories or even care where it lives now or lived for ninety years on the UNC campus. But, it should be an honorable thing to retain a special image just to remember and honor it... him... Totem Teddy.

Thus, all I, as a person who grew up in Greeley, ... all I want is to use my modest talents to revive a memory on the campus that has meant so much to me.

It's not a question of money. It's a question of freedom of expression and the opportunity for students, in fact, anyone who visits the campus in any capacity, to experience tradition. To me, if art is controversial, it, at least, begins a discussion. Discussions, even arguments, have the potential to be the source of new thoughts, new ideas and when we are lucky, personal growth.

Early in this blog a couple of people who did not identify themselves made terrific comments. The best one was the person who said that students "didn't have time to try to figure out 'abstract' art." To me, the most important job that a university is given the task to do is to challenge the ideas of not only the students, but every single person it may touch. Debate is healthy.

Is a challenge to the aesthetic that accepts a stuffed bear and a huge bronze, a bad thing? I hope not. Is the re-awakening of an institution to an important tradition a good thing?
I really hope so.

Michael Sheehan
CSC 1963

Totem Teddy Centennial

As I've come to understand that the wheels of any bureaucracy turn slowly and the tides of taste change at a slow pace, I'm hoping that there may be more visitors here who may support the idea of a tribute to Totem Teddy that may occur on or before his Centennial.

At least a few of you are checking in here. This is heartening.

Interested Bears, please leave a comment here if you have any inclination to help with this project to benefit our alma mater.

Thanks,
Michael Sheehan