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Giant in-the-white Gibsons arrive in GuitarTown
Press Release
2004-10-26

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The first shipment of 10-foot-tall fiberglass Gibson guitars arrived at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum today, ready for local and regional artists to put their personal touches on them for Nashville’s GuitarTown Project. Three of the artists who will finish out the 50 guitars, to be displayed around the city, were on hand to check out their new “canvas.”

“It’s a little overwhelming, but I’m excited,” said artist Trey Eckles, whose guitar design is a tribute to Les Paul entitled Wizard of Waukesha. “I pictured in my head a huge monster, but it’ll fit into my studio.”

Stacy Garner-Spivak, whose guitar design will be built around the image of a wine bottle, came equipped with a measuring tape to check the dimensions. “Will it fit,” she said. “Sure, I’ll just take it out back and it’ll fit fine.”

To artist Harold Kraus (who just recently joined the GuitarTown Project) the first sight of the giant guitars prompted thoughts about the scope of the work ahead and how much time the artists will have to put into these works for charity. “In a sense it’s a privilege,” he said. “But people don’t realize what a job this is. There’s a lot of pressure. When you get into competition you get obsessed. It’s a month of work. But it’s exciting, too.”

Nashville’s GuitarTown project benefits more than 10 non-profit organizations and charities and includes the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Downtown District, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, United Way and several others. The project is administered by the Gibson Foundation, a music industry charity supported by Gibson Guitar Corp., which is dedicated to improving the quality of life through its support of the arts, education, health and welfare and environmental causes.

For more information, along with renderings of all of the GuitarTown designs, please visit the GuitarTown website.