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First, I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who participated in Michael's birthday surprise...including (and indeed especially) Michael's parents, sister and other relatives whose involvement underscored the fact that this was truly a joint endeavor by one large, supportive family -- a family who all in one way or another share the McDermott name. And, "large" is indeed an appropriate word here, as the response was so amazing (including participation from paupers in 17 states and 2 foreign countries!) it made for the biggest gift that could be sent via Priority Mail! And, on 8/20/02, that gift was mailed out -- with verification of its receipt subsequently arriving on 8/22. So, now that the date of the event for which it was intended has officially passed, here are all the details of the "song" we came together to "paint" Michael.
As with all great "painted" masterpieces, once the work was competed, it was imperative to choose a title. And, given the nature of the project, its theme of Michael's work (which is so much a part of him) having become a part of each of us, etc., I ultimately decided "Self-Portrait" could be the only answer to this dilemma. After all, so many of the greats (including Rembrandt, Cezanne, and Van Gogh to name only a few) have created works that share this moniker, so it seemed only appropriate to include the name "McDermott" among such an elite group of artists. Secondly, I thought it might be helpful to Michael in receiving this huge (24" x 36"), strange piece of art if it were accompanied by a bit of explanation as to how it came about. And, in keeping with the celebratory nature of its intent, I therefore attempted to enlist a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor/mock stuffy-seriousness into a "companion piece", if you will, which I entitled "The Aficionado's Guide to 'Self-Portrait' by Michael McDermott et al." Here are a few photos from this "guide"...
A full-size (8 1/2" x 11") "book" divided into three sections, the first portion explains how the project came about...
...using a printed version of the web page you all visited to explain it...
The second part includes the names of all participants (or rather "artists) who created this masterpiece...
(Note: There are actually seven pages of names in this section, but as one illustrates the concept clearly enough, they are not all included here. It should also be noted that in certain instances "artists" pooled their efforts to decorate a single line so that they might make one large submission rather than several smaller ones)
Section Three, the final and arguably most important section, reveals at last the reason for the whole endeavor...
...which leaves only the back cover to "close" the book...
And, so, with all the details explained, without further ado, here it is...Michael's "painted" birthday "song"...
And here's a little more up-close shot of it (which you'll note by the inexact alignment near the center) allowed for by piecing shots of the top and bottom portions together. Obviously, no photo can really capture the finished product with perfect accuracy, but it's hoped that this will at least offer everyone who took part a glimpse into what they/you helped create!
(Note: Believe it or not, even at this point of "construction", I was still receiving late entries - as a result, after these photos was taken, another submission was fitted into the narrow yellow strip near the left bottom corner of the piece, and additional ones were worked into a separate framed masterpiece all its own. So, if you don't see your contribution, fear not...every submission received did end up as part of the finished present sent to Michael.)
Well, that's it! And, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me anytime!!! mil@artistinsane.com
And, again, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!
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