|
|
ARLINGTON--Prolific artist Peter Max, whose vivid use of color first caught the eye of the nation in the 1960s, yesterday unveiled a patriotic poster he hopes will raise $1 million for the Pentagon Memorial to the victims of Sept. 11, 2001.
Max, who lives in Manhattan, said he was inspired to help after seeing the renovation efforts at the Pentagon during a visit to Washington last year for a showing of his artwork. He had already created six posters to benefit victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
The poster that was unveiled yesterday is classic Max, with bold colors--predominantly red, white and blue. It features the Statue of Liberty with the Pentagon in the background and four artistic representations of the American flag behind the torch.
The posters will be available in mid-November through a nonprofit organization via his Web site--petermax.com--or at att.com/mil.
Nine-thousand posters--all of which will be personally signed by Max--are being sold for $150 each. Of each sale, $100 will go to the Pentagon Memorial Fund and the rest to cover expenses, according to spokeswomen for the project.
Another 25 "overpaintings" will be sold for $8,000 each, with half of that going to the fund.
Max's first patriotic artwork featured the Statue of Liberty and eventually led to him helping get the New York icon restored. After that, the German-born and internationally raised artist was hooked.
"I so much loved the fact that I did it, I do it over and over again," he said yesterday. "So now, I look for places where I can do it."
Jim Laychak, president of the Pentagon Memorial Fund Inc. and brother of one of the 184 people killed at the Pentagon, said he appreciated not only Max's contribution but also corporate supporter AT&T, which underwrote and is marketing the poster.
"To me, it's not just the poster, it's also the marketing muscle of AT&T," Laychak said after yesterday's unveiling on the grounds of the Pentagon where the memorial will stand.
Rosemary O'Brien, AT&T's general manager for military markets, said promotional materials will eventually be included in the 20 million invoices the company sends its customers each month.
She also said the posters will be promoted at the roughly 2,500 programs AT&T holds each year for the military and general public.
And she will be encouraging the corporation's dot-com partners to feature the fund-raiser on their Web sites.
The Pentagon Memorial is being built on 1.9 acres not far from where American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the structure, killing everyone on board and 125 employees inside.
It is projected to cost $11.6 million, but the victims' families want to raise $20 million to also cover long-term maintenance.
As of yesterday, Laychak said the nonprofit organization's coffer held about $390,000--most of which has come from Department of Defense employees. Raymond F. DuBois, director of administration and management for the Pentagon, said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has made a "substantial" personal contribution to the fund.
Laychak said his group is now searching for professional fund-raisers to direct their efforts.
No date has been set for completing the memorial, but some estimates place it in spring 2005.
"There's no looking back," board member Wendy Chamberlain said.
To reach PAMELA GOULD: 540/657-9101 pgould@freelancestar.com