Rockland Public Art Dedication on May 8th

The Rockland County Art in Public Places Committee is pleased to announce the dedication of two commemorative benches by sculptor Eric David Laxman at the entrance to the Rockland County Office of Fire and Emergency Services Fire Training Center at 35 Fireman's Memorial Drive in Pomona.

A dedication ceremony, presided over by County Executive Ed Day will take place on Wednesday, May 8, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. at the center.

Laxman's sculptural benches honor the courageous service of Rockland's firefighters and emergency responders. Inspired by art deco and graphic design imagery, the backrests of the works were painstakingly drawn by hand to incorporate intricate and meaningful symbols associated with firefighting and fire training.

In a nod to the county, the artist prominently featured the numeral "44" signifying Rockland's designated Fire ID number. The depiction of firefighters' ladders on the backrests is mirrored in the horizontal support beneath the front edge of each bench, and the cast concrete sides with relief maps of Rockland County feature "Star of Life" symbols for emergency services with serpent-wrapped Staffs of Asklepios, named for the Greek god of medicine.

Fabricated in laser cut steel and powder coated in brilliant red, each bench measures four feet high and ten feet long and sits atop a poured concrete base. With an assist from Garnerville cabinet and furniture maker Richard Johnson, Laxman added a natural-colored seat made of Ipe, an exotic wood from the forests of South America known for denseness and resiliency.

A graduate of Tufts University, Eric David Laxman also studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A long-time Rockland resident, his specially commissioned works can be seen in corporate collections and public spaces throughout the United States, including the Summit Medical Group/MD Anderson Cancer Center in New Jersey, Greenwich Hospital in Connecticut and as part of Hamilton, Ohio's "City of Sculpture" tribute to public art.

Closer to home, Laxman created the 9/11 Memorial at Rockland County Community College, the Munich 11 Memorial at the JCC West Nyack and the memorial bust of Army Corporal Manny Lopez in Haverstraw.

The Rockland County Art in Public Places Committee -- a group of 11 local volunteers including artists, art historians, architects, conservators and arts administrators -- commissions, selects, places and preserves site-specific works of art in a variety of media. For over 30 years, AIPP has integrated art with architecture and the environment to enhance public spaces. The committee is supported by the Percent for Art Law which provides that funds from certain county construction projects be allocated for the acquisition of unique works of art in public sites throughout Rockland County. Introduced in 1986 by legislators Harriet Cornell and Bruce Levine, the law (the only program of its kind in New York State outside of New York City) seeks to make art accessible to all Rockland County residents and visitors and to foster a sense of community connection and pride.

http://aipprockland.org/