October 25, 2003
GuitarMania and Fender Custom Shop Art Guitars
by Staff
GuitarMania I
In 2002, the city of Cleveland, Ohio, the United Way Services charitable organization, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, joined forces to produce an "art meets guitar" event known as GuitarMania I. It comes as no surprise that the Fender Stratocaster was choosen to be the rock and roll icon instrument and serve as the canvas that over 100 well-known artists would use as their vehicle for artistic expression.
In conjunciton with the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, over 100 large (approximately 10 feet in length) fiberglass replicas of the Fender Strat were produced with which participating artists were given free reign to let their imaginations and artistic abilities run wild to produce the art guitar of their dreams.
Below are four examples of the result.
Left: PROUD (artist: Martin Boyle); Right: Beyond the Blues (artist: Chuck Dill)
Photos by Bill Pappas for GuitarMania ©2002
Left: Imagine...Harmony with Nature (artist: Susie Frazier Mueller) Right: Living Legend (artist: Grady Hayes)
Photos by Bill Pappas for GuitarMania ©2002
The works of art produced by the participating artists were sold at the GuitarMania Live Auction held on November 9, 2002, at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Since then, a book documenting the project has been published and a series of GuitarMania Miniatures are now available for purchase.
GuitarMania I and the Fender Custom Shop
At the 2003 Winter NAMM, the Fender Custom Shop presented its normal-sized, fully functional, Custom Shop Art Guitar Stratocasters that replicate some of the instruments produced in conjunction with GuitarMania I. The word at the Winter NAMM was that the Custom Shop would produce up to three units each of various GuitarMania Strats, with Fender artist, Pamelina H., providing the replica artwork. One of the Fender Custom Shop Art Guitar replicas (PROUD) made its way to the Michael Perry Collection.
GuitarMania II, Encore 2004
The City of Cleveland, United Way Services, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have announced that GuitarMania II will take place in 2004, which happens to be the 50th Anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster. The large art guitars that result are scheduled to be auctioned on November 6, 2004, at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
GuitarMania II, Encore 2004, is now seeking sponsors. Enlisting more sponsors means the creation of more 10-ft.-tall Stratocasters, and a greater help to this worthy charitable event. In addition to the joy of helping, sponsors receive a number of benefits as outlined in this document from the United Way. Any individual, company, or organization interested in becoming a sponsor should contact one of the individuals listed below.
Further Information
General Information: GuitarMania Site
Direct Link to the GuitarMania I Guitars: 2002 Art Guitars
Contact Information for GuitarMania II: Dave Shriber at 216-436-2247 or dshriber@uws.org; or, Michelle Carver at 216-436-2121 or mcarver@uws.org
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Published October 25, 2003 01:17 PM.