Director

408-336-5407

Artist, Charles A. Gadeken, and his collective called The Illumination Project will create a 6' by 300' interactive mural at the San Jose America Festival located at Discovery Meadow in Downtown San Jose on July 3rd from 5p.m. to 11p.m. and July 4th from 11a.m. to 11p.m.

Charles has been a fine artist in the Bay Area for 11 years, and was highlighted in the San Francisco Fine Art Dealers Association, Introductions 93. As an up and coming artist in Northern California his work has been featured at Ebert Gallery, Union Square, San Francisco and many other fine art galleries throughout the area.

The interactive mural, entitled "10,000 Hands of American Music" will be 6' tall by 300' long, double sided on loose canvas, painted in bright, whimsical colors with musical notes, instruments, suns and stars dancing the length of the painting. The participants at the festival will be encouraged to apply paint to their hands in order to create thousands of colorful hand prints. Participants will also be given a sponge print to add to the mural and to personalize their hand print art.

The goal of this project is to encourage 10,000 + people to come together and celebrate Independence Day and American Music in a unique way, and to have a tangible final product for all to enjoy. The project will allow participants to remember their childhood uninhibited relationship with art by using finger-paint and block printing. It also allows people to become active players in the art experience instead of passive viewers.

The mural will be available for participants at the America Festival to paint on July 3rd from 5p.m. to 11p.m. and July 4th from 11a.m. to 3p.m. The mural will then be displayed aloft for all to enjoy for the remainder of the festival. The mural will maintain the "hands on" experience when all of the artists see the final outcome, locate their art work and walk the length of the painting. This is not a fragile work of art and everyone may wrap themselves in the canvas and feel the texture of the paint. Being loose canvas, it will blow in the breeze, creating an ever-changing form.

This mural will later be joining several other similar canvases to create a monumental work of art, and will be displayed on the Haulapai Playa in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada on Labor Day weekend.

Please come join Charles and the Illumination Project crew for a day of artistic celebration.

For more information contact The Illumination Project, P.O.Box 872 Ben Lomond, CA 95005 Telephone (408)336-5407: Fax (408) 423-5696: e-mail Cgadeken@aol.com