MADD revises Kaka'ako memorial proposal
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Hawai'i chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving has resubmitted a proposal for a victim memorial at Kaka'ako Waterfront Park after the artist commissioned for the project unexpectedly withdrew his design.
MADD presented a new design for a 13-foot-high cement and bronze sculpture earlier this week to members of the Hawaii Community Development Authority, the state agency overseeing the park.
The sculpture by John Koga, a Honolulu free-lance artist and chief preparator for The Contemporary Museum, consists of an 8-foot base topped by life-size abstract figures of a man, woman and child. The heart area of all three figures is hollow, representing the loss felt by people who lose loved ones in drunk-driving crashes.
The proposed memorial, which would not identify victims, would be placed at the 'ewa end of the park's oceanside promenade in an existing planter surrounded by naupaka at the base.
Theresa Paulette, chairwoman of MADD's victim memorial committee, said the memorial is intended to be both a place for remembering those killed or injured in drunken-driving crashes and a public reminder of the problem.
Since the inception of the MADD Hawai'i chapter 16 years ago, 1,200 people have died in driver-impaired accidents statewide, she said. Many more have been seriously injured.
Koga's sculpture would replace a proposed design by David Verbeck, who withdrew his original submission for an unspecified reason. Verbeck, whose initial design consisted of a victim and comforter figures perched on a base in the shape of a car key, submitted a new design, Paulette said.
Hawaii Community Development Authority board members will consider approving the memorial in the next few months. If approved, Paulette said she hopes to have the memorial installed by the end of 2002.
Financing for the project is still needed to cover the $60,000 budgeted for design, construction and maintenance. Island Insurance Co. has donated $10,000.
Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.
