The United Way of Cleveland hosted Guitar Mania as a fundraiser and to honor the city’s rock music heritage. Visual artists, celebrities, and notable recording artists were selected to decorate fiberglass 10’ Fender Stratocaster guitars. The monumental guitars celebrated the Stratocaster’s 50th anniversary and appeared around the city. My design proposal “Fender Bender” was selected and sponsored by The Cleveland Plain Dealer. It spent part of the year on display in front of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a portion of the year standing guard at the entrance to The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s main offices. In the fall, all of the guitars were auctioned off at the Rock Hall at a special event with all proceeds benefiting the United Way. A small selection of guitars, including Fender Bender, were chosen to be mass-produced as miniature 10”replicas and sold across the U.S.
(above) Fender Bender was one of only a few guitars selected to become 10" miniatures.
Full-sized 10' hand-painted guitar installed in front of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
