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painting > Universal story
Universal Penguin Has Stars in It's Eyes
view Universal
Penguin photo album
media used:
acrylic, Liquitex: medium viscosity matte permanent
varnish
Binney & Smith, Inc.
Liquitex: acrylic artist color paint - Prussian blue
Binney & Smith, Inc.
Artist Acrylic Colors: acrylic black paint
Cal-Western Paints, Inc.
Painters: ultra fine opaque paintmarker - white
Hunt Corporation
Wellbond: glue and sealer
Frank T. Ross & Sons, Inc.
Hirschberg Schultz & Co., Inc. (12)10 mm acrylic cabochons
list of celestial
objects depicted on the penguin
the Path of the Penguin Through
the Starry Night
story on YSU website
"The title of my penguin refers to four concepts and levels at once: The Universal
Soldier is the title of an old folk
song written by Buffy Saint-Marie
in the early sixties about the Inevitability of War,
referring to our present Middle Eastern travails. The
Universal theme also refers to the starry universe that
pervades our household: the material taught by my partner
who works in YSU Physics and Astronomy Department. I
am also referring to the fact that however hackneyed
it may seem, or as critics may decry it, simply by living
in Youngstown, it is the Center of the Universe from
our perspective. From where we stand the world is revolving
around us and at the same time we all need to have the vision
that there is an entire awesome universe falling away
from us, waiting to be explored and marveled upon. Which
brings us to the last concept: our university is full
of youthful-minded students all hoping …to improve their
lives or the lives of those around them. They have stars
in their eyes!" Diana Ludwig
Celestial objects are painted in acrylics on the dark surface of the penguin,
which was first given a coat of blackish Prussian blue.
Near stars & bright stars, nebulae and open clusters,
globular clusters, other galaxies, clusters of galaxies
and even the best known quasar are labeled with their
names and locations. The placement of these stars and
deep-sky objects approximates a chart of the entire
sky with the coordinates determined by the perspective
of a viewer standing in Youngstown, Ohio.
view 3-dimensional video
or view here (284 KB)
Penguins get a new home
Published: Sat, Oct 30, 2004
at
Vindy.com link, the online version of the
Vindicator newspaper
by IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN — Warren Young came to Stambaugh Auditorium
on Friday evening looking to buy a work of art for the
Youngstown State University planetarium.
Before the night was over, he had paid $4,000 for a
penguin.
"Delighted, we're just delighted," said Young, a professor
of astronomy and physics at YSU and retired planetarium
director.
The penguin purchased by Young is called "Universal
Penguin Has Stars in its Eyes" and it's one of 31 fiberglass
penguin sculptures in the "Penguin Parade" community
art project. The sculptures were sold in a charity auction
Friday at Stambaugh.
Local artists designed the sculptures. Young said his
penguin, designed by McDonald artist Diana Ludwig and
covered with illustrations of stars, constellations,
and other celestial bodies, will be placed in the lobby
of the YSU planetarium in the next few weeks.
About 450 people attended the auction, which raised
$190,950, not including ticket sales. Tickets to the
auction were $50 each. The total raised was not immediately
available.
"The Mill," designed by Tom Antonishak of Poland, and
"A Penguin's Dream," designed by the Prodigal Media
Design Team, each sold for $16,000 each, the highest
bids at the auction. The Ward and Eleanor Beecher Foundations
bought "The Mill," while Kathy Kennedy, of the Kennedy
Family Foundation, purchased "A Penguin's Dream."
Proceeds will be donated to the McDonough Museum of
Art and YSU's Students Motivated by the Arts program,
as well as the Community Foundation of the Mahoning
Valley and its endowment funds for Beatitude House,
Community Living, Goodwill Industries, Junior League
of Youngstown, Leadership Mahoning Valley, Potential
Development, and Youngstown Hearing and Speech.
Community pride
Catherine Cala, co-chair of the Penguin Parade project
and associate director of university development for
YSU, said she felt the project had helped foster community
pride. The penguins have been on display throughout
the Mahoning Valley for the past few months.
The auction of each penguin began with Miss Ohio 2004,
Amanda Beagle of Howland, describing the sculpture to
be sold. Auctioneer J. Paul Basinger then opened the
bidding for each penguin at $1,000.
Larry Richards, president of the YSU Alumni society,
made the first purchase at the auction. He bought "All
Buttoned Up," a penguin designed by Anita Kay Wesler,
a Mill Creek MetroParks horticulture educator, for $4,500.
The bidding lasted less than a minute.
Richards said the alumni society had collected a total
of $10,000 from its members to buy the penguin, which
will be placed outside of the YSU alumni house.
"It's a symbol of the university," Richards said. The
alumni society also had paid to sponsor the creation
of the penguin.
Donations
Paul Williams and Dr. Bill Bunn purchased the next penguin
for sale, "Infinite Possibilities" by Robert W. Walker,
for $2,200 on behalf of the Andrews Fund of the Community
Foundation of the Mahoning Valley. They received a rousing
round of applause from the crowd when they announced
the penguin would be donated to the Children's Museum
of the Valley.
The penguin had been on display at the museum.
"They loved it there ... they hated to lose it," Bunn
said.
Others bought penguins to the auction and donated them
to the Jewish Community Center, the Mahoning Valley
Historical Society, Youngstown Symphony, St. Elizabeth
Health Center and Mill Creek Park. YSU officials said
a couple from California also attended the auction and
bought a penguin.
Turner Seabrook, owner of Top Quality Auto Spa in Youngstown,
said the penguin he purchased for $3,750, "The Emperor
of Sports" by Martin Cohol, would be placed outside
of his business. He said he bought the penguin to demonstrate
that there is support in the community for projects
like the Penguin Parade.
Others at the auction also noted that the event showed
that the Mahoning Valley could come together in support
of the arts.
"I think it's a tribute to our community," said Walter
Good, a member of the Penguin Parade steering committee.
There originally were 31 penguins in the project, but
one was stolen. Jon Fetter donated $2,000 at the auction
to replace money that would have been raised by the
sale of the stolen penguin.
© 2004 Vindy.com. A service
of The Vindicator.
online version of Youngstown
University Alumni Magazine
link to article
Penguin Parade Auction
Warren Young stood up and raised his bid ticket.
More than 450 people filled the ballroom of Stambaugh
Auditorium for the gala auction of the Penguin Parade
public arts project in October.
On the block was “Universal Penguin Has Stars in Its
Eyes” designed by artist Diana Ludwig, a stately bird
decorated with a sky chart, complete with shiny celestial
objects, galaxies and stars.
Young, a member of YSU’s physics and astronomy faculty
since 1962, planned to place the seven-foot-tall penguin
in the lobby of the Ward Beecher Planetarium.
He wasn’t going to be outbid.
“I decided some time ago that we should buy it if we
could,” said Young, who retires in June. “It’s ideal
for us.”
Young took a collection from faculty and staff in the
department before heading off to the auction and also
received assistance from Frank and Jocelyne, ’74, Linsalata
of Gates Mills, Ohio, and Bruce and Gretchen Birrell
of Youngstown. This generous support enabled him to
place the winning bid of $4,000.
Young was one of many heartwarming stories coming out
of the auction, where 29 of the fiberglass penguins
were sold to the highest bidder.
In all, the auction and the raffle of a 30th penguin
raised nearly $200,000 to benefit YSU’s McDonough Museum
of Art and SMARTS (Students Motivated by the Arts) program,
the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley and
its endowment funds for Beatitude House, Community Living,
Junior League of Youngstown, Leadership Mahoning Valley,
Potential Development, Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries,
and Youngstown Hearing and Speech.
The penguins, sponsored by local individuals and businesses
and decorated in a variety of ways by local artists,
debuted at the Summer Festival of the Arts on the YSU
campus in July before being placed at public locations
throughout Mahoning and Trumbull counties. After a quick
trip to the rotunda of the State Capitol in Columbus,
the penguins gathered at Stambaugh Auditorium for the
gala sendoff.
On average, each penguin sold for more than $6,500,
with two penguins garnering high bids of $16,000 each:
“The Mill” by artist Tom Antonishak was purchased by
the Ward and Eleanor Beecher Foundations, and “A Penguin’s
Dream” by a team of artists from Prodigal Media was
purchased by Kathy Kennedy and the Kennedy Family Foundation.
While most of the penguins will remain on display at
various locations in the Mahoning Valley, two will be
shipped to the home of Dr. S. Walter and Lisa Casey
Kran in San Leandro, Calif., near San Francisco.
Kran, a radiologist, said he has collected about 500
penguin statues over the past 20 years and heard about
Penguin Parade while in Solon, Ohio, for a family reunion.
So, he and his wife came to Youngstown for the auction
and purchased two birds for a combined $21,000. Kran
will place the penguins in a covered patio at his home.
Valerie Sutton of Salem won “Hot Rod Penguin” in a raffle
drawing at the end of the auction. More than 1,500 tickets
at $5 each were sold. Sutton said she purchased four
tickets when the penguin was on display at the Canfield
Fair.
“My youngest son, Jarrod, saw that penguin and he really
liked it,” she said. “He wanted to take it home right
then.”
The penguin, by artist Guy Shively, is displayed at
Den-Dar’s, a clothing store on State Route 62 between
Salem and Alliance that Sutton owns.
To see all the penguins, visit
www.ysu.edu/penguinparade/.
Copyright ©2004 Youngstown State University, One
University Plaza, Youngstown, Ohio, 44555
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Read
story of how the Penguins came to Parade
in Youngstown, Ohio
Ward Beecher Planetarium of Youngstown
University
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