{"id":1022,"date":"2019-07-17T18:19:07","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wcsu.wpengine.com\/news-archives\/wcsu-art-professor-to-dedicate-hat-maker-sculpture\/"},"modified":"2019-07-17T18:19:07","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:19:07","slug":"wcsu-art-professor-to-dedicate-hat-maker-sculpture","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/wcsu-art-professor-to-dedicate-hat-maker-sculpture\/","title":{"rendered":"WCSU 2016 – WCSU art professor to dedicate ‘hat maker’ sculpture"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WCSU art professor to dedicate \u2018hat maker\u2019 sculpture <\/div>\n

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DANBURY, CONN. <\/strong>\u2014 In the early 1900s, nearly a quarter of the hats sold in the United States were made in Danbury. The local hatting industry started in the city more than 100 years before that, and Danbury is still known today as \u201cHat City.\u201d<\/p>\n

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As a tribute to the city\u2019s history, David Boyajian, an adjunct professor of art at Western Connecticut State University<\/a>, was commissioned to sculpt the \u2018hat maker,\u2019 a 14-foot bronze and steel sculpture that sits outside City Hall at 133 Deer Hill Ave. On Monday, June 20, 2016<\/strong>, at 4 p.m., there will be a ceremony to officially dedicate the artwork to the city.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMr. Boyajian\u2019s sculpture is a reflection of our community\u2019s hatting history,\u201d said Brigid Guertin, executive director and city historian at Danbury Museum & Historical Society. \u201cHe has done a lovely job of presenting a hatter at work, using diverse materials, and in a manner that invites further discovery by the viewer. This wonderful piece is an open, flowing design that presents viewers with an opportunity to glance at the past or walk right up to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Boyajian, who teaches drawing and design, earned his Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Maryland Institute. He has completed dozens of monumental commissioned work and works primarily in steel. His \u201cHarvest Gate<\/a>\u201d was commissioned in 1994 by the Hunger Task Force of Leadership Greater Hartford to raise funds and awareness for hunger and is an entrance to the Main Street Farmers Market in Hartford\u2019s downtown.<\/p>\n

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Sponsors for the sculpture are The Hatting Monument Committee, Union Savings Bank<\/a>, City of Danbury<\/a>, and Friends of the Danbury Museum & Historical Society.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England\u2019s best small private universities. <\/em><\/p>\n

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