{"id":4148,"date":"2023-03-28T23:07:29","date_gmt":"2023-03-28T21:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gaps.gda.pl\/?post_type=object&p=4148"},"modified":"2023-03-28T23:07:29","modified_gmt":"2023-03-28T21:07:29","slug":"monument-to-john-paul-ii-and-ronald-reagan","status":"publish","type":"object","link":"https:\/\/gaps.gda.pl\/en\/obiekt\/monument-to-john-paul-ii-and-ronald-reagan\/","title":{"rendered":"Monument to John Paul II and Ronald Reagan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Technique: <\/strong>cast bronze<\/p>\n

Dimensions:<\/strong> 2.2 m (total height), 1.6 \u00d7 1 m (dimensions of the total space occupied by the sculptures)<\/p>\n

Object: <\/strong>The statue depicting John Paul II and Ronald Reagan was based on a photograph taken by Scott Stewart of the Associated Press. The famous image shows the Pope and the President of the United States walking in a park in Miami, Florida, in September 1987. The monument was initiated by the \u201cGodno\u015b\u0107\u201d (Dignity) Association, uniting former activists of the Solidarity Trade Union and political prisoners of the 1980\u201389 period. In September 2012, the Association donated the object to the city of Gda\u0144sk.<\/p>\n

The full-figure sculpture was designed and made by Stanis\u0142aw Milewski and Bogus\u0142aw Szycik. It is cast in bronze and portrays Ronald Reagan and John Paul II in motion. The work very faithfully reproduces the photograph taken in the late 1980s. The faces of the famous historical figures are portrayed in a realistic fashion. John Paul II is dressed in a papal cassock, with a pectoral on his neck and a zucchetto on his head. He is slightly bent over and seems to be the listening party in the immortalized conversation scene. Ronald Reagan is wearing a suit, slightly stooped, and seems to be speaking in the portrayed dialogue. The sculpture was placed in one of the side alleys of the park, even more literally reproducing the situation from the Miami photo. At the edge of the alley, on three low concrete pedestals, there are three plaques made of marble. One contains information about the sculpture\u2019s founders, another information about the author and the place where the famous original photograph was taken, while the third one bears the inscription reading \u201cPoles Grateful for Independence\u201d. Both the photo and its sculptural counterpart are one of the testimonies of friendship and political alliance between Ronald Reagan and John Paul II (referred to as the Holy Alliance). The monument was vandalized several times, most notably in 2013, when the metal arm of the Ronald Reagan sculpture was cut off (and later found in a scrap yard).<\/p>\n

Place: <\/strong>The monument to John Paul II and Ronald Reagan is located in the park named after President Ronald Reagan, an honorary citizen of Gda\u0144sk. The statue may be found in the part of the park situated in the Przymorze Wielkie neighbourhood. The 85 ha park stretches along the coastal belt of Gda\u0144sk, encompassing the districts of Przymorze Wielkie, the western part of Brze\u017ano and the eastern part of the \u017babianka-Wejhera-Jelitkowo-Tysi\u0105clecia quarter. This area used to be occupied by temporary allotment gardens and wasteland. The plan to develop the seaside area for recreational purposes was drawn up in 2001 and implemented in stages until 2014. In addition to areas where one can relax, engage in physical activity or make a bonfire, the park was diversified with outflow ponds with living shorelines and nesting islands for waterbirds. In 2008, the Ronald Reagan Park in Gda\u0144sk received a distinction from the Society of Polish Town Planners (TUP), which recognized it as the best managed green space in Poland.<\/p>\n

Information about the author:<\/strong> Stanis\u0142aw Milewski (b. 1944 in Piotrk\u00f3w Trybunalski, d. 2018 in Ogl\u0119da) was a sculptor and author of numerous statues erected in cities around Poland. He is the author of the monument to Anna Walentynowicz in Gda\u0144sk-Wrzeszcz, the monument to Lech and Maria Kaczy\u0144ski and to Bogus\u0142aw Kaczy\u0144ski in Bia\u0142a Podlaska and multiple sculptures in his native Piotrk\u00f3w Trybunalski.<\/p>\n

Bogus\u0142aw Szycik (b. in Bia\u0142ystok) graduated from the Faculty of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gda\u0144sk. He is the author of the famous Mark<\/em> sculpture in Bia\u0142ystok, among others.<\/p>\n

Condition of the object: <\/strong>renovated<\/p>\n

Owner\/guardian: <\/strong>Gda\u0144sk Road and Greenery Authority<\/p>\n

Author of the entry:<\/strong> Dorota Kucharczyk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Technique: cast bronze Dimensions: 2.2 m (total height), 1.6 \u00d7 1 m (dimensions of the total space occupied by the sculptures) Object: The statue depicting John Paul II and Ronald Reagan was based on a photograph taken by Scott Stewart of the Associated Press. The famous image shows the Pope and the President of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"parent":0,"menu_order":119,"template":"","object_cats":[37],"districts":[74],"object_authors":[129],"class_list":["post-4148","object","type-object","status-publish","hentry","object_cat-monument","obj_district-przymorze-2","object_author-dorota-kucharczyk-2"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaps.gda.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/objects\/4148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaps.gda.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/objects"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaps.gda.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/object"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaps.gda.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"object_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaps.gda.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/object_cats?post=4148"},{"taxonomy":"obj_district","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaps.gda.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/districts?post=4148"},{"taxonomy":"object_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaps.gda.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/object_authors?post=4148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}