Art "rocks"

Art Business News, August, 2004

* "GuitarMania[R] II: Encore in 2004," kicked off its 2004 summer season at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's Key Plaza on Friday, May 28, 2004. Ninety guitars were on display during the Memorial Day weekend before moving to their permanent summer locations at businesses and landmarks in the greater Cleveland area.

Following the cow craze in Chicago and Zurich, Switzerland. as well as the pigs in Cincinnati, the bandwagon started to roll toward an event in Clevelend. What would be a more appropriate display than guitars?

The official launch of "Guitar-Mania" took place at the Rock Hall in April 2002 with the unveiling of several guitars by prominent local and celebrity artists, including Yoko Ono and Peter Max. Other Celebrity artists also caught the fever. These included the world's premier ocean artist, Wyland, and the Eagles' Joe Walsh, an inductee in the Rock Hall In June 2002, GuitarMania began its own road show. The opening act was a massive public display of nearly 100 guitars on the Rock Hall's Key Plaza, framed by the spectacular Cleveland

As in 2002, sponsors of Guitar-Mania II have paid $7;500 to have their 10-foot-tall fiberglass guitar decorated, either by an in-house talent or by a select list of area artists.

The first GuitarMania raised about $1 million for its beneficiaries--United Way Services of Greater CleVeland, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northeast Ohio. Event organizers expect this year's GuitarMania to again make significant contributions to United Way and the Rock Hall.

Upcoming events surrounding GuitarMania are the GuitarMania Scavenger Hunt. The Art of GuitarMania, Thursday, Oct. 7, a silent auction of all original artist renderings submitted by local Cleveland artistS to GultarMania for sponsor selection and GuitarMania Live Auction on Saturday, Nov. 6, when each 10-foot-tall guitar will be auctioned off.