A finely detailed portrait bust of Neda will be presented at a massive rally in front of San Francisco City Hall on July 25th. More than 20,000 people are expected to attend the event.
Master sculptor, Paula Slater, was shocked by the graphic video of the shooting death of Neda, a lovely young Iranian woman. The brutal death recorded on a cell phone video in Iran was played on news stations around the world and widely circulated on the internet. Neda was shot in the heart by a suspected Iranian government sniper while she was on her way to an election protest. When Ms. Slater learned the Iranian government had banned Neda's family from holding a memorial service, she set to work sculpting a life size portrait to memorialize Neda. The sculptor says her schedule was packed with Public Art commissions to complete, but she was so saddened by the tragic events in Iran that she needed to turn the pain she felt into art before she could proceed with her other sculpting projects.
The finely detailed portrait bust of Neda Agha-Soltan--who has been dubbed "The Angel of Iran", 'The Angel of Freedom"--will be presented at a massive rally in front of San Francisco City Hall on Saturday, July 25th. San Francisco City Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will host the event and Slater has been asked to speak about her inspiration for the sculpture. More than 20,000 people are expected to turn out to show support for the Iranian peoples' cry for greater freedom and Democracy in Iran. July 25th Global Day of Action for Human Rights in Iran planned by www.United4Iran.com will take place in more than 50 major cities around the world.
The Northern California sculptor says, "The Iranian government might be able to ban a memorial service for Neda in Iran, but they cannot stop us from holding one here. We can all gather for events and memorial services being held internationally for this Angel of Freedom and for those countless others who have been threatened, beaten, been imprisoned or have disappeared, and the nineteen others who have been senselessly murdered for questioning the recent election results in Iran. The world should never forget their sacrifice."
"Neda was a person full of joy," said her music teacher Hamid Panahi. "She was a beam of light." Neda was a philosophy student, an accomplished singer and was passionate about music and travel. She was also studying to be a tour guide and had traveled with friends to Dubai, Turkey and Thailand. Neda was engaged to be married. Slater says, "When I read these descriptions of Neda I was drawn to sculpt her portrait, to help keep her memory alive." (Photo of clay bust presently being cast in bronze, at http://www.PaulaSlater.com/Slater/Sculptor/WorksInProgress.htm)
Slater has been awarded many large public and private art commissions but wanted to donate her time and talents to immortalize Neda's image in bronze. Recently completed commissions by this prolific sculptor include a monumental Abraham Lincoln bronze for Springfield, Kentucky, a multi-figure Veterans Memorial for Altoona, Pennsylvania, and a bronze Miner for the Port Huron Mining Memorial in Michigan. Next on her sculpting schedule is the Steven Stayner Missing Children's Memorial for Merced, California and the heroic sized Military Handlers and Working Dogs National Monument for installation in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Slater is also renown for her elegantly sculpted bronze portraits of Congressmen, Senators and leaders of industry.
Contact information:
Paula B. Slater, M.A.
PAULA SLATER SCULPTURE
http://www.PaulaSlater.com
Phone: 1-800-675-5067
email: cpslater@mchsi.com
July 25th, Events in More than 50 Cities Around the World
Global Day of Action for Human Rights in Iran
http://www.United4Iran.com
Contact Hadi Ghaemi; phone +1 917 669 5996
email: united4irangmail.com
Visit www.united4iran.org for a list of participating cities.
