The Artist
Joel Selmeier
In college I thought that the most important thing I could do for the human race would be to work for peace. To that end, I became a political science major and explored a career at the United Nations. Eventually I had to face the fact that I did not belong in politics or in a bureaucracy like the UN. I had been denying my artistic side because artists starve to death and I did not know what an artist could do for world peace. But my proclivities and talents, the things that wake me up in the morning needing to be dealt with, are artistic. So finally I gave in and worked in the arts while continually looking for how to serve the cause of peace through art. Then, in 1999, I discovered that there was such a thing as a peace pole and I began working on them.
At right is an unfinished five-sided copper peace pole.
The only ones being made at the time were unimaginative, not especially durable and did little to legitimize the message. So I experimented to see if I could create something better. I communicated with more than one person at the World Peace Prayer Society. One said he liked my site, updated a fact on it and sent me the contents of their database showing where peace poles already were located. We had discussions about peace poles and the work I was doing. He told me that some of my work might be highlighted in their next Global Link newsletter.
At left is where I make the peace poles.
I now have explored making peace poles out of many things. The largest was a multi-ton granite peace pole that cost $65,000 with landscaping. Others were of limestone or stainless steel or wood or bronze or synthetics (which someone in this movement dubbed "resin"). I even tried making a peacepole out of soft drink cans (hey, it's recycling). In the end copper, brass and limestone poles were among the most interesting and durable.
The artistic side of me continually
ends up exploring and experimenting to see what else can be created.
That leads to
learning and to one-of-a-kind peace poles. I don't know what to do with those. But
making those is how five-sided poles came into existence. And how copper and
bronze peacepoles came into existence. So who
knows what's down the road?
This is a press I use for bending metal.
From time to time I take stabs at making cast stone peacepoles with dozens of languages on them. I'm not sure that ever is going to work. The problem is how to make them light enough to ship and durable enough to survive for generations and yet aesthetic enough not to look like a mass produced lawn ornament. The materials that meet the first two requirements tend to fall down on the third.
Also, I'm experimenting to create peace poles that are more lighthearted. I want to maintain the traditions, but shouldn't some poles about peace be a little less formal? These are not war memorials. Shouldn't some of them be something at which kids giggle?
I'm working on it.
