July 23, 2009

BROKEN HEARTS MEMORIAL TO BE DEDICATED SEPT. 12

RAHWAY – Mayor James Kennedy has announced that the “Broken Hearts Memorial” honoring those killed in Iraq will be formally dedicated at the Rahway Train Station plaza on Saturday, September 12 at 11 a.m.  The rain date will be Sept. 13 at 11 a.m..  The public is invited to come participate and show their gratitude to our fallen soldiers and their families by painting a heart on the wall.

The memorial is the brainchild of Jim McKeon, founder of the Rahway Art Hive Studio and Co-Op Gallery.  The Art Hive is a working studio for the five resident artists where they create the main bulk of their art work. The public is encouraged to come in and see the works in progress and talk with the artists. Once a month, The Art Hive becomes a co-op gallery for the artists to display and sell finished work.

The vision for The Broken Hearts Memorial came to Jim one day during a conversation about iconic tattoo symbols with a friend who had a son serving in Iraq. It started out as a small idea to paint a cracked heart on a canvas and grew into the 36 foot free standing walls that are the broken hearts memorial you see today. As an artist, Jim is honored and grateful for the opportunity to be able to pay tribute to our fallen soldiers and especially, their surviving families.

The wall consists of nineteen interlocking panels that when assembled, stretches over 36' long and reaches over 9' high.

The background of each panel is a single, life-size silhouette of a soldier on duty.  On top of each silhouette, 128 hearts will be painted until the current number of US soldiers killed is reached: 4,317 as of July 6.  The shape of the wall is open hexagons, vulnerable when standing alone, but strong when placed back to back.  The design itself, symbolizes how our soldiers protect each other everyday in combat, sometimes, giving their lives. The wall is constructed so that it can be either a permanent, traveling, or temporary installation.

Around August 29, the memorial will be installed at The Rahway Train Station Plaza with the background silhouettes already painted. At that time, the individual painting of the hearts by the artist will begin.

The hearts will already be stenciled in to make it easy for anyone who would like to join in and assistance will be provided by the artist on site. After the opening date, the artist will accept public participation on Wed, Thurs, and Friday from 10 am to 2pm, and by appointment.

Please contact info@brokenheartsmemorial.org  to make an appointment.  For more information on the memorial, visit the BROKEN HEARTS MEMORIAL. To view a Star-Ledger video of the artist and his memorial, click here.