Everyone has them – books that touch their souls and stay with them years after they’ve read them. For Muncie businessman and artist Michael Hutchinson, that book is Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451.”
“I’ve just always loved that story,” Hutchinson said. “I probably read it for the first time in 1971, and I don’t even remember how I came to pick it up, except that I’ve always liked books like (George Orwell’s) ‘1984’ that had that dystopian feel, and ‘451’ fit that.”
So Hutchinson went to work when he learned about an art exhibit centered on Bradbury’s book. The exhibit was part of the communitywide Big Read, a yearlong celebration of “451” organized by Bo Chang, assistant professor of adult and community education.
“I love the story, and I love and create steampunk art,” Hutchinson said. “After only a few hours, I knew what I wanted to say and had my piece assembled.”
The exhibit featured nearly a dozen artists and capped off a series of events funded by a grant Chang received from the National Endowment for the Arts, including book discussion groups and a lecture by Jonathan R. Eller, Bradbury’s official biographer. NEA Chairwoman Jane Chu said The Big Read is a powerful example of how the arts bring communities together.
"These organizations, including Ball State University, are creating valuable opportunities for their communities to share wonderful stories and characters, and to have meaningful conversations," Chu said.
Chang said the goal was to bring the community together around one book to showcase the staying power of literature and art, and to foster a love of reading.
“That’s what we wanted more than anything.”