On 10/10/2008, WickedLocal.com (
visit link) reported the following story:
"Plymouth Immigrant Monument artist returns
Every two years artist Barney Zeitz returns to Plymouth to polish the Plymouth Immigrant Monument in Brewster Gardens that serves as a tribute to the men and women who were America’s first immigrants.
By Kathryn Koch
Posted Oct. 10, 2008 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 10, 2008 at 10:11 AM
PLYMOUTH
Every two years artist Barney Zeitz returns to Plymouth to polish the Plymouth Immigrant Monument in Brewster Gardens that serves as a tribute to the men and women who were America’s first immigrants.
When Zeitz accepted the commission from the Plymouth Cultural Council in 1999 to create the monument, he was adamant that he be able to return to see to its care and preservation personally.
“It’s important to me to make sure it looks good,” he said Friday afternoon as he stood beside the monument that took him seven months to weld together but a year overall to bring to fruition.
Zeitz, who works out of his studio on Martha’s Vinehard, arrived in Plymouth around 8:30 a.m. to start cleaning the stainless steel monument, and from 1 to 3 p.m. he set to work polishing the monument while answering questions from people who turned out for an ask-the-artist reception in Brewster Gardens with cider and cookies.
His secret to a good polish? Turtle Wax. Zeitz said he has tried other polishes to more disappointing results. He deliberately designed the six faces on the monument to reflect the different backgrounds of people who have immigrated to the United States.
The Plymouth Immigrant Monument was dedicated on site on the Plymouth waterfront Oct. 6, 2001. Zeitz can clearly recall where he was less than a month earlier, on Sept. 11, 2001. When the airplanes hit the World Trade Center towers in New York City, Zeitz was on a ladder working on the monument. The eagle at the top of the monument serves as a reminder of the freedoms immigrants are looking for when they move here.
Plymouth Cultural Council chairman Mary Harris was among the council members in Brewster Gardens for the reception. She said the cleaning of the statue every two years gives the public an opportunity in a casual, informal setting to ask Zeitz questions about his thought process for creating and caring for the statue.
“We thought it would be nice to let people know that they were welcome to come and hear about his inspiration and perspective on the piece,” she said.
Harris said it’s also an opportunity to bring attention to the council’s commemorative stone project. For a $100 donation, the public can dedicate a granite stone for the walkway.
Zeitz’s children, Kaela and Elliott Vecchia-Zeitz, are among his family members whose names are immortalized in granite stones arranged along the path that leads to and encircles the monument. Twice a year new stones are added., once in the spring and again in the fall.
“It’s really nice to see all the names,” Zeitz said."