The Bells
The Bells
The Children’s Bell Tower in Bodega Bay, California was created in memory of seven-year-old Nicholas Green. Nicholas and his family were vacationing in Italy when their car was mistakenly targeted for an armed robbery. Nicholas died from his injuries, and his parents donated his organs to medicine.
Moved by this gift, Italian schools, churches, and other institutions made gifts of bells in memory of Nicholas. The bells were flown to California by the Italian Air Force and mounted to this structure.
Visiting this breezy location near the Pacific Coast, one is greeted by a cacophony of bells and chimes. But it’s not the memorial bells that you hear. It's any number of memorial items tied to the nearby trees — a spontaneous memorial created by visitors.
This series of images has become a fine art object created in honor of this moving location: a music box that accompanies the viewer's exploration of cards commemorating the offerings, with the sound of the chimes. See video below.
The Bells
For those interested, a mini-book is also available. It describes the location and contains images of the beautiful anonymous mementos at this site. For more information about this book or about other fine art objects, contact Jenny.