Tuesday 21 February 2012

Tribute to Oscar Peterson


This photo shows a view of Canada's National Arts Centre in downtown Ottawa. I was walking across this intersection when I came across a wonderful sculpture on the sidewalk at the corner. You can just see it in the middle bottom of the picture, at the base of the building.  


It is a sculpture by Ruth Abernathy of the great jazz pianist, Oscar Peterson (1925-2007). The National Arts Centre commissioned this tribute to Peterson to commemorate his 65 years as a musician, composer and recording artist. I really like how casual it feels, just Oscar and his piano sitting on the sidewalk on a busy intersection of the city. And the best part is that there is music playing, as part of the installation. You can look at the sculpture, or sit and have your picture taken with Oscar, while listening to his music being played over loudspeakers in the background. Cool!

3 comments:

Jenny said...

It seems very fitting that the sculpture should be in amongst the people as they walk along as Oscar Peterson was such a gregarious, friendly person. I think he would've liked the setting.

Sarah said...

That's such a great idea, and the execution of it is fabulous!!

Elaine said...

That is a wonderful sculpture, I really like the accessibility of it.