GUN-VICTIMS MEMORIAL MIRED IN CONTROVERSY
Byline: By Abraham Kwok, Staff writer
Eighteen months ago, then-Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson tapped a group of social activists
for a simple, if largely symbolic, goal:
Memorialize victims of gun violence with a sculpture made of confiscated firearms.
But the Melting Arms, Saving Kids committee had a meltdown of its own, drowning in political and philosophical bickering over firearms.
Now, some are working to put on their own version of Melting Arms, Saving Kids.
The quiet effort is being led by Robert J. Miley, a local artist whose recent works include a park-bench sculpture that he allowed kids to graffiti -- by design -- in a central Phoenix neighborhood.
''This isn't going to solve the problem . . . but (will help) to heal a few hearts that have been affected by the violence,'' Miley said during a recent brainstorming meeting with a core group of supporters.
Miley says he doesn't want the effort to be mistaken as an attack on gun ownership, an issue that embroiled the MASK committee.
The selling point of the meltdown-gun art remains one of symbolism. Miley already has a name picked for the piece: Release the Fear.
The design is of a figure with both arms stretched skyward, its feet swallowed by a sea of gun parts. The work would stand 8 to 10 feet tall and weigh 2,500 to 3,000 pounds. A small-scale version sits in the living room of Miley's home studio.
Release the Fear remains largely a dream, grounded by the realities of money and politics.
The work is expected to cost upward of $80,000, the bulk of it for the initial casting. Even Barry Starr, a supporter who was tapped by Miley's group for his ties to business and civic organizations, expressed skepticism that that kind of money can be raised.
Seeking the City Council's help seems a last resort.
Warren Brown, an anti-gang activist who once worked for the city, spoke adamantly against having ''a political entity be the driving force behind this.''
''It cheapens the whole process,'' he said.
The desire for ''a grass-roots movement'' is shared by the core group of supporters, which include Mothers Against Gangs, Block Watch activists Richard Fox and Lora Lee Nye, and Johnson, the ex-mayor. And what the group lacks in money, it vows to make up with will and hope.
It has already jumped one hurdle: finding a caster to melt down the guns. Other foundries had balked, in part because plastic gun parts would be difficult to dismantle and separate.
Miley and Nye now have set their sights on bringing into their fold more supporters, and talk of perhaps recruiting a gun dealer to help fund the project.
''Kind of like beer companies doing responsible-drinking ads,'' one supporter said.
Miley has an even bigger vision. He sees many Release the Fear sculptures, placed in different parts of Phoenix and the Valley -- city parks, perhaps. Works, Miley says, that the community can go up to touch and feel. Art that heals.
Asked by Nye whether such a sculpture would help the families of victims felled by guns, Brown, who counts ''66 or 67 of my very friends who have died by firearms,'' replied:
''Absolutely.''
Color photo by James Garcia/Staff photographer
Artist Robert J. Miley shows his work Release the Fear on Sunday. He wants to create a larger version of the sculpture made from melted firearms.