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Gibson GuitarTown-Sunset Strip

R. Nelson Parrish to Showcase Fiberglass Gibson Les Paul Guitar at GuitarTown on the Sunset Strip

R. Nelson Parrish, teams with Gibson Guitar and The Sunset Strip to showcase 10-foot tall guitar sculpture in public arts project, Guitar Town.

Santa Barbara, CA (August 12, 2010) – R. Nelson Parrish has been selected as one of 26 artists to showcase his artistic vision of a 10 ft replica Gibson Guitar.  The guitars are part of The Sunset Strip and Gibson Guitar-hosted public-arts project debuting August 12, 2010 on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, Calif.  Parrish’s work will be displayed at The Roxy Theater until 2011.

The project will feature 26 ten-foot tall fiberglass Gibson Les Paul model guitars strategically placed on the legendary Sunset Strip in West Hollywood.  The oversized Gibson guitar sculptures were created by local and nationally acclaimed visual artists and placed along the 1.6-mile Sunset Strip in front of the boulevard’s landmarks and businesses, including the Whisky A Go-Go, The Roxy Theatre and Sunset Marquis.

Parrish, a UNR alum with a masters from UCSB, is a young artist originally from Alaska.  He got his inspiration for his guitar by creating hundreds of photographs of The Strip using prolonged exposures from a moving car.  Parrish’s guitar, entitled #35 (Cruisin: Sunset Strip), represents an “iconic American past time: cruising the Sunset Strip.”

“My work is an investigation of color, motion and the contemporary landscape. Implementing the act of cruising as source material was a natural fit to my work. The result is a 10-foot abstract totem-esque representation of the Sunset Strip experience. It is by far the largest piece I have created to date.

“Gibson has been a part of my family for generations,” says Parrish. “My grandfather played a 1947 Archtop, my uncle owns two Gibsons, and now I get to paint 10 ft Les Paul. To continue the tradition and add to rich history of the Roxy, the Sunset Strip and Gibson, is both an honor and a privilege.”

Photo by Jonas Jungblut

“Like Gibson Guitar, the Sunset Strip is legendary. It’s also responsible for launching the careers of some of the world’s greatest musicians,” said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. “We are so pleased to be part of the Sunset Strip project and look forward to hosting GuitarTown in what will definitely strike a chord with everyone who visits this famous destination.”

“The Sunset Strip community is excited to host GuitarTown. Not only does it celebrate The Strip’s unique contributions to music and the arts, it will also showcase the accessibility of the boulevard and provide visitors with another reason to get out and explore this legendary destination,” noted Todd Steadman, Executive Director of the Sunset Strip Business Association.

A selection of the Sunset Strip Motion Studies.

The guitars will complete a “tour” of The Strip and then be sold at a Gala Auction, with all proceeds benefiting nonprofit organizations and charities. Similar projects hosted by Gibson Guitar and Epiphone have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity and taken place in Nashville, Austin, London, Orlando and Miami. The Sunset Strip GuitarTown project will be administered through the Gibson Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Gibson Guitar Corp., which is dedicated to improving the quality of life through its support of the arts, education, health & welfare and environmental causes.

“GuitarTown is a perfect fit for The Strip. It celebrates the iconic rock heritage while also looking to the future–which includes the Sunset Strip Music Festival coming up in August,” said West Hollywood Councilmember Lindsey Horvath. “We are amped for GuitarTown because it’s also a terrific way to show off the immense improvements we’ve made to The Sunset Strip.”

For more information about the artist, please visit Gibson Guitar at

http://su.pr/2piRzX

For more information about the Gibson GuitarTown Sunset Strip project, please visit:

http://www.gibson.com/Sunset-Strip/.

Other posts about this event:

http://www.chinashopmag.com/2010/08/guitartown-invades-the-sunset-strip/

http://jasoninhollywood.blogspot.com/2010/08/sunset-strip-becomes-guitartown.html

http://www.gibson.com/en%2Dus/Lifestyle/ArtistsAndEvents/Stories/sunset%2Dstrip%2D0817/

http://wehonews.com/z/wehonews/archive/page.php?articleID=4984

Video:
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/around-town/events/Sunset_Strip_to_Become_Guitar_Town_Los_Angeles.html