Modern Ark of Noah Mural In Secret Garden A Tribute To Siegfried & Roy
A new modern Ark of Noah mural depicting Siegfried & Roy and their family of animals was unveiled today (Saturday, August 23) at Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage. The mural was conceived and created by Margit Ráduly, a university History of Fine Arts teacher in Miercurea-Ciuc, Transylvania, Romania, to honor the Magicians of the Century’s dedication to animal conservation.
Margit met Siegfried & Roy last year when the illusionists visited Franciscan Nun, Sister Dolore, (Siegfried’s sister) at the orphanage they helped build in Romania. Siegfried & Roy saw her work displayed in the orphanage and expressed to her their passion for the pieces and was commissioned by Roy to create a center piece for their Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. Margit was given a copy of their book, Siegfried & Roy: Gift for the Ages, from which she got the idea to create the Ark of Noah mural. Sister Dolore had given Margit her first project — a mural for the orphanage — while she was attending a fine arts college in Romania.
“Siegfried & Roy’s passion for the children in the orphanage, their animals and life, were an inspiration to me,” said Margit, in her native tongue of Hungarian. “The mural is my way of expressing my appreciation to them and to show others what they have accomplished. I believe that they are the Noahs of our modern times who have made it possible that the rare breeds of White Tigers and White Lions were brought back from extinction.”
Ironically, Margit knew nothing before of Siegfried & Roy, or that matter, about the rest of the world because she was living under the reign of Communism in Romania until a dozen years ago. “We were not allowed to have any outside contacts and were not meant to learn anything.” Ten year’s ago her brother, Attila, went to Rosenheim, Germany, for a vocational training course sponsored by Siegfried & Roy. In Germany, Attila met Siegfried’s uncle who told them about Siegfried & Roy.
The Ark of Noah mural was created in the workshop where Margit and Attila, a mechanical engineer, work together…she does the artistic side of the work and he does the technical side. They do everything themselves, they produce the clay and do the glazing. They use a clay mixer, a drier and a kiln, all of which were made by Attila.
The Ark of Noah mural was created by 147 handmade etched clay pieces that were joined together to create “the big picture.” The colors were created by two different processes…the first burning method to create light colors is called oxidized atmosphere technique, and the second, to create darker colors, is called reduced atmospheric technique. She also uses ceramic paint for a more detailed look.
The mural took months to complete. “Such a large mural can only be done in several parts,” explained Margit, “and all the parts have to fit perfectly. The tiles have to fit in such a manner that when looking at the artwork, one is not distracted by the spaces between the tiles. Therefore, we have to put the tiles together several times, and then take them apart. Finally, we ground the edges and then put it together for the final time.”
Four crates arrived in Las Vegas last week containing the individual pieces. The Rádulys arrived Monday – their first trip to the United States – and started assembling the mural Tuesday morning.
In addition to the fine arts, Margit also teaches North American Culture and 20th Century Art at the university. “The trip to America is a dream come true since, during the time of Communism, all we knew was that there was an America…but nothing more. Now, because of Siegfried & Roy, we have the opportunity to fly to the United States and make contact with the American country, the American people and the American culture."
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