Man of Steel, Man of Peace

Extract from an article about Jim Havens '57 from "Sculptural Pursuit" magazine, Spring 2006

One sculpture that Havens created carries with it a story of which the artist is very proud. "On March 16, 1988. Sadaam Hussein bombed Halabjah's 85.000 Kurds with chemical weapons. Halabjah is a small community: between Iran and Iraq on the Iranian border. Hussein's armies gassed 5.000 men, women and children. Iran, shortly after that, advertised in all of the international art magazines for the creation of a holocaust memorial; the prize was $50,000."

Havens entered the competition with an idea in mind for the entry that involved the first written word in world history for "peace." His investigation determined that the first written language was Sumerian cuneiform, a language created out of necessity for the grain trade circa 2500 B.C. His proposal to Iran for the creation of a ten-meter peace sculpture in cuneiform was so well received that Havens received phone calls and faxes regularly from the Iranian architect who was responsible for the project. Unfortunately, the entire project came to a halt with the start of the Persian Gulf War, and Havens never heard from the architect again.

Havens began exhibiting a seven foot stainless steel version of the PEACE sculpture, the maquette for the competition he had entered in Iran. While well received in a number of venues, the scuIpture generated positive reviews as a geometric shape rather than for the significance of the cuneiform symbol. Havens's classmates, (Class of 57 - ed.) from the Woodstock School in Mussoorie, India, came up with the idea that it would be wonderful if a sculpture of his could be installed at their Alma Mater. The school promotes peace and diversity, and includes students from Asia, the Middle East, and Australia who use the school to learn English in preparation for Western educations. Havens discussed the significance of the PEACE sculpture with some of his former classmates who became enthusiastic about it. In June 2004, in celebration of the Woodstock School's sesquicentennial, the class of 1957 gifted the school with Haven's sculpture. The sculpture now resides at the school on a terrace that has been formally renamed the Peace Terrace.

Havens understands the power of the PEACE sculpture for himself and others. "You know, when you've got something like the Peace sculpture over in the Himalayan mountains and, perhaps, it is easily something that could be there three hundred plus years, and it is going to affect school youngsters, kindergarten through twelfth grade, that is powerful, very powerful. If that is not enough to get you out of bed in the morning and get you charging, I don't know what could be."

James Havens is a member and past president of the Toledo Area Sculptors Guild, and an exhibiting member of the International Sculpture Center, a member of the National Sculpture Society, and of the Cleveland Sculpture Center. For more in/ormation about his sculptures, please contact him at: 521 West Main, Woodville, Ohio, 43469.

You can download a pdf of the full article with more photos here - courtesy of Sculptural Pursuit magazine (650kb)