photo by Flickr user uzvards
According to a City of Walnut Creek agenda, a giant hand sculpture may be on permanent display at Civic Park in downtown Walnut Creek. The first choice, Alma Park was rejected due to, “future development”. From the agenda:
The panel felt the Alma Park Plaza site would showcase Hand of Peace in a high visibility area, which would serve as a “gateway” both to other downtown artworks, as well as the Walnut Creek Public Art Program itself, by sparking interest in public art. It was agreed that, upon its installation, Hand of Peace would become a prominent artwork on the public art walking tours, and a significant place-maker for Walnut Creek and Alma Park. After careful review and input from the neighboring residents and businesses of the Alma Park site, and considering the future development that would take place adjacent to the site, it was determined that the location would not be viable. As the alternate, the panel selected the Civic Park “Triangle” at the Library’s north entrance (Attachment 2), because they were drawn to the green, peaceful, and reflective qualities of the
park. This site is highly visible, and the panel saw great benefit in installing the sculpture in a downtown park location and within a green landscape. The Civic Park site has significant pedestrian traffic, street visibility, and the opportunity for park visitors to spend time enjoying Hand of Peace from nearby benches and open space.
An interesting side note is that the artist Beniamino Bufano, chopped off part of his trigger (index) finger and sent it to President Woodrow Wilson at the onset of World War I as a protest against the war. You can see an old video interview with Bufano here. When I saw the video and took a look at the sculpture again I thought maybe the shorter finger at right was a representation of his missing index finger top, rather than the pinkie.
