Henry Richardson's "Healing the World" sculpture was unveiled at the Miami Botanical Gardens on November 18th at 11am. The event was a great success, raising money for the hospital and providing wonderful entertainment for all. The city of Miami Beach also surprised me with a proclamation declaring that Sunday, November 18th, 2007 as officially "Henry Richardson Day." The link to photographs of the event is here.
Healing the World (Tikkun)
A glass sculpture from Henry Richardson's spheroid series was created out of layered circles of reconstructed, fractured glass. Each ring of bonded, shattered glass was mathematically calculated to correspond to a correct circumference for each layer, the sum of which forms this 5,000 lb., 6 foot hollow crystalline sphere. The inspiration for Tikkun comes from Henry's belief that societies which inspire and welcome individual acts of grace become more considerate, more kind, more tolerant, and more open. The word Tikkun, comes from the Hebrew phrase "Tikkun Olam," which simply means: repairing the world. According to the oral tradition of Hebrew mysticism, as God created the universe, divine substance became infused into every aspect of our material world, including each and every one of us. When any one of us does a good deed, an act of kindness, a beneficent gesture, we become part of a collective force that mends the universe. Henry created Tikkun, and titled it, to allow each person their individual interpretation of this concept. For Henry, Tikkun is the hope that our collective acts of grace will ultimately, like these shattered fragments of glass, contribute to a better world--a sparkling, crystalline whole. Questions related to the acquisition or exhibition of Tikkun should be addressed to Henry Richardson.