“Besame Mucho” in Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2016; photo by R&R Studios
By: Jen Russon
Thousands of silken flowers in bright colors are being assembled into letters, standing 16 feet tall and spelling out the words Peace & Love. The billboard-size message is by the Argentinian artists, Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt.
The pair are the face of R & R Studios in Miami and were chosen to collaborate on the last installment in the Power of Art program.
Behar and Marquardt shared details about their massive piece at the Coral Springs Museum of Art, in a room that included mayors and city commissioners from both Parkland and Coral Springs.
Before the pair spoke, Mayor Scott Brook thanked them for bringing power, art, love, and healing to the community, introducing Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky to expound on those words.
“Peace and love are the way forward. Hate, anger, minimizing, marginalizing – that’s not how anything gets done, that’s not how anyone heals,” she said.
She later added the Peace & Love project is incredibly joyful and a great way to end the Bloomberg Philanthropies series, which the two communities used as a way to come together and navigate its grief, following the unspeakable tragedy.
The installation of Peace & Love will take place on the second anniversary of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and will project hope to the tens of thousands of people crossing its path, located on the corner of Sportsplex Drive and West Sample Road.
This, the fourth in the Power of Art series was made possible by a $1 million grant from Bloomberg, and partnership with the Coral Springs Museum of Art and two cities.
Museum director Julie Andrews said there would be a series of workshops at the museum, inviting the community to come out and build the letters of Peace & Love from scraps of silk.
“Flowers are a symbol of friendship, and that’s what we wanted to convey with this piece – friendship as well as a sense of hope and a better future for us all,” said the artist Behar.
Marquardt, who has been Behar’s partner since they were kids, agreed, explaining that, like their public art piece BESAME MUCHO, Peace & Love would also create a sense of welcome and well-being for visitors or those just passing through.
“A city belongs to everyone. If you feel the city loves you, then you love the city back,” said Marquardt.
The couple’s R&R Studios in Miami is asking the Coral Springs and Parkland communities to envision a positive future by weaving together visual arts, architecture, design, and the city.
To work alongside Behar and Marquardt in workshops that complete construction of Peace & Love, register for the January 18, 21 and January 23 workshops on Eventbrite, and for more information on the official unveiling of Peace & Love on February 14, 2020, check in with Coral Springs Talk in coming weeks.
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