By WAYNE GREENE Senior Writer on May 20, 2008, at 6:39 AM Updated on 5/20 at 6:39 AM
WAYNE'S WORLD
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How neat to find out on Monday that Katie Westby's literal thumbprint is in The Minstrel sculpture in front of the Harwelden, headquarters for the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa.
Westby is a hero of the Tulsa arts scene: largely creating the Arts and Humanities Council, convincing the Harwell family to donate Harwelden to the council, fighting for the 1 percent for art ordinance that ensures quality art in all public buildings in the city and even standing up to the mayor (now U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe) in defense of some of the art bought with that fund.
A tour of Harwelden – a place I've been many times including my wedding day – was part of Marilyn Inhofe-Tucker's TCC class, Footsteps through Tulsa on Monday. The class is in its final days, and I'll miss it, but I won't miss the walking or the work.
Back to the Westby story. Shortly before she died, the Arts and Humanities Council was working on a signature sculpture for the front of Harwelden. It's a dancing minstrel who plays the flute and carries the traditional masks of comedy and tragedy around his neck: a combination of all the performing arts in a piece of fine art.
They asked Westby to put her thumbprint in the statue's clay mold at the foot of the minstrel. You can see it, if you know where to look. So, as long as the beautiful statue stays in front of Harwelden, there will be a little bit of Katie impressed upon it.
She put her imprint on everything else in Tulsa's art world. Why not the statue too?
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