Even one such as the Prime Minister, no supporter of the arts, has seen it fit to get behind this one: a life size statue of Canadian jazz great Oscar Peterson, to be erected – public funding permitting – in front of Ottawa’s National Arts Centre.
Other politicos prepared to pay up include the Hon. William Davis, the Hon. Roy McMurtry, and, expectedly, the Hon. Bob Rae. Rae was not only a long-time friend of Peterson’s (the 2 once interviewed one another on the CPAC TV special Double Take) but a passable piano player in his own right; he last massaged the keys, in fact, at the NAC, during its annual gala last October (as did the less comfortable looking and clearly coerced PM.)
The sculpture will be crafted by another Canadian artist of note, renowned sculptor Ruth Abernethy, responsible for the famous statue of Glenn Gould outside the CBC studios in Toronto. Like that iconic testament, the Peterson monument will be interactive, leaving room on Oscar’s piano bench for fans and passers-by to sit and stage a mock duet.
Rae: “With today’s launch of the public phase of the campaign, our National Committee members hope to engage jazz lovers and Canadians everywhere to contribute to this wonderful tribute to one of our country’s national treasures.”
Harper: “Oscar Peterson is a quintessential Canadian success story…He deserves to be honoured in this prominent location in our National’s capital.”
Donations can be made online at www.nac-cna.ca/oscar.
Comments