{"id":949,"date":"2016-02-01T18:32:27","date_gmt":"2016-02-01T18:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.susaneleyfineart.com\/news\/?p=949"},"modified":"2016-06-14T15:19:37","modified_gmt":"2016-06-14T15:19:37","slug":"francie-hester-at-memorial-sloane-kettering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.susaneleyfineart.com\/news\/?p=949","title":{"rendered":"“Wordfall” at Memorial Sloan Kettering"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are pleased to announce the unveiling of\u00a0Wordfall<\/em>, a dramatic site-specific installation by\u00a0Francie Hester<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Lisa Hill<\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center<\/a>, New York City. The artwork is comprised of 80,000 paperclips, each hand wrapped in paper and linked to create hundreds of strands that cascade from ceiling to floor. Wordfall was acquired by MSK for the lobby of its new\u00a0Josie Robertson Surgery Center<\/a>, 1133 York Avenue at 61st Street. The permanent installation has a beautiful story to tell.<\/p>\n

Text is integral to\u00a0Wordfall<\/em>. The catalyst for this project was the poetry of Brendan Ogg, an aspiring writer who was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of 19. In the face of his illness, Brendan created a collection of poetry entitled\u00a0\u201cSummer Becomes Absurd,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0which reveals the energy of youth, the wisdom of one who has met and acknowledged mortality and an embrace and celebration of life. Brendan succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 20.<\/p>\n

Wordfall<\/em>\u00a0weaves together six of Brendan\u2019s poems from this collection as a tribute to his life and spirit. More than 300 people\u2028 across 50 states and 2 continents,\u2028 who ranged in age from 10 years old to 91 years old, and were family, friends, teachers and strangers,\u2028 some who had survived cancer,\u2028 others who were cancer caregivers, healthcare workers and the homeless,\u2028 wrapped Brendan\u2019s poems, using 60 pounds of paper around the 80,000 paper clips.<\/p>\n

A new community emerged as those who wrapped connected through shared stories of sorrow and of hope. The wrapped paperclips transformed the written work, so easily lost, into a living memorial \u2014 linkages of words, random at times, but with powerful and passionate messages.<\/p>\n

Wordfall hangs from a curved aluminum truss that allows the strands to drop as a waterfall, gracefully and organically. The work is primarily black and white, although bits of amber and gold Chinese ceremonial papers are woven throughout the piece to symbolize and celebrate Brendan\u2019s 20 years of life.<\/p>\n

Ten per cent of the proceeds from\u00a0Wordfall<\/em>\u00a0will go to\u00a0Brendan Ogg\u2019s Memorial Fund<\/a>,\u00a0which supports programs that focus on art and healing, young adults with cancer and other issues that Brendan cared about.
\nWith Special Gratitude: \u2028The Ogg family\u2028, Howard Connelly, engineer and fabricator,\u00a0Wordfall<\/em>\u00a0is installed in front of a floor to ceiling window and can be viewed from the street or within the lobby.<\/p>\n

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center\/Josie Robertson Surgery Center
\n1133 York Avenue (at 61st Street)
\nNYC, New York 10065\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

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