Igor Fokin Memorial Sculpture Project
Doo Doo Sculpture September 22, 2001
The sculpture is in place! On a beautiful Saturday evening in Brattle Square, Cambridge, a bronze statue of Igor's puppet 'Doo Doo' was unveiled to a jubilant crowd of about 250 people. The weather cooperated and everything went off without a hitch. At the base of the granite pedestal on which DooDoo sits, are three bronze bricks with a memorial inscription.

Immediately following the dedication ceremony, there was an hour long vaudeville-style street show starring 10 local street artists in the middle of Brattle Street.

Earlier in the day, a showing of two documentary films on Igor packed the 250 seat Brattle Theater. Overall, it was a great day filled with emotion and celebration.
The inscription on the bricks reads:

IN MEMORY OF BELOVED PUPPETEER
IGOR FOKIN
1960-1996


AND IN CELEBRATION
OF ALL STREET
PERFORMERS

Igor Fokin's puppet DooDoo was recreated and designed by sculptor Konstantin Simun. This memorial was funded in part by grants from The Fund For The Arts, Mass Cultural Council, and Harvard Square Businesses. Dedicated September 22, 2001.
Brick Dedication
Memorial Sculpture The whole day was well documented by several people, including Chris Schmidt and Gary Henoch; the guys working on an Igor documentary. Once their project is complete, there will be information on this web site about possible future film screenings. Update: Their film is complete and is now available for purchase. Visit this page for more information, or go directly to their web site. Another filmmaker, Yelena Demikovsky has completed her video project on Igor, as well. More detail and purchasing information on Yelena's video here.

Thanks to all who came to the event and to everyone who supported the project fom the start to finish.

Your letters of support worked! We received over 100 letters of support for the project from the community. Thanks to everyone who wrote in. Funding for the project was secured, in part, from The Massachusetts Cultural Council and in part by a grant from The Fund for the Arts, a restricted fund of the New England Foundation for the Arts. We would also like to thank the Cambridge Arts Council, the Harvard Square Business Association and the City of Cambridge for all their generous support.
A Brief History of the Project:
Since the day of Igor's death, people had been talking about installing some kind of memorial plaque or sign or sculpture on the spot where he worked in Harvard Square. In the Spring of 1997, a small group led by the Cambridge Arts Council met to discuss what would be an appropriate tribute. We decided on a few things:
  • There should be some kind of plaque in the sidewalk.
  • The plaque should not only memorialize Igor, but should pay tribute to all street performers, as well.
  • A small, unobtrusive sculpture of one of Igor's puppets would be wonderful. The puppet Doo-Doo (below) was the natural choice.
  • Whatever was installed should not interfere or make it difficult for other performers to use the spot for future shows.
  • The location of the memorial should be on the corner of One Brattle Square, where Igor worked most often and performed his final show.
Doo Doo
A bronze replica of the puppet "DooDoo" (approx. 10" tall) sits on a 3-foot tall granite bollard overlooking the spot where Igor performed in Harvard Square. An accompanying plaque which pays tribute to Igor and to all street performers is installed in the sidewalk.

Russian artist Konstantin Simun was commissioned to create the artworks.
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A poem for Igor, "Puppeteer"   Igor Video