HARLEM, THE BIG APPLE OF NYC’s EYE
I recall vividly, 17 years ago, as we stood on the dais on the grounds of the state capitol in Richmond to greet my husband’s friend and mentor, the late master sculptor, Stanley Bleifeld, at the conclusion of the unveiling ceremony for the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial. Stanley embraced my husband and whispered in his ear: “You were an inspiration for me as I constructed this monument.”
Mr. Bleifeld, former president of the National Sculpture Society in New York City, had advised and counseled Regi since 1989. Unfortunately, he died in 2011 before he was able to fulfill his desire to assist Regi to construct his own sculpture vision, EYE LUV THE BIG APPLE.
Regi’s sculpture recognizes Harlem as the birthplace of New York’s Big Apple nickname, originally organic Harlem slang. It is also a commemoration to two Harlemites, Cab Calloway and Gwen Barrett, who were instrumental in the Big Apple’s proliferation as an International icon.
The Birthplace of the Big Apple monument is 26 feet tall, 18 feet wide, and designed as a heart-shaped apple composed of fourteen six foot tall multi-flesh-colored figurines depicting New Yorker’s composite smiling face in profile, phonetically reading EYE LUV THE BIG APPLE, and rotates 360 degrees clockwise every 24 hours, perpetually.
This Big Apple sculpture embodies diversity and inclusion consistent with Cab Calloway’s ideals, and Regi's. My husband was feted on Capitol Hill for a New York City racial healing campaign he led called GOLDEN OpportUNITY FOR UNITY, cited in the U.S. Congressional Record. He also devised and directed Unity Week in West Palm Beach in cooperation with the city's mayor’s.
Now, despite the endorsement of New York City Community Board 10 in Central Harlem, and his current appointment as Creative In Residence at the Harlem Tourism Board, the resources to achieve his vision of a Big Apple Harlem community symbol will not happen without your support.
As the world’s premiere destination embodied in the artistic metaphor of the Statue of Liberty, the Birthplace of the Big Apple sculpture continues New York City's legacy as a safe harbor embracing and honoring E Pluribus Unum.
Please help Regi complete this critical work.
Thank you.
Yvonne
