Artists from around the world created 50 squares that were combined to make one image depicting Marc Fogel, a Butler native being detained in a Russian prison. Submitted photo

One look at the Marc Fogel portrait that will be displayed at the Butler Art Center & Gallery Feb. 15 conveys 50 different meanings.

The piece, titled “Home,” was created by 50 artists who each created one square that would be placed into a 10-by-five grid to show Fogel’s head and chest. Fogel, a 1980 Butler Senior High School graduate, has been in a Russian prison since he was arrested at Sheremetyevo International Airport in August 2021 for possessing less than an ounce of medical marijuana. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Dennis Keyes, an artist from Butler, said he knew exactly what he wanted to do when he received his assigned piece of Fogel’s face — the center of his forehead. Keyes said he took inspiration from Eastern philosophy to create an image that may reflect Fogel’s thoughts while sitting, waiting in the Russian prison.

“In various Far Eastern philosophies and religions, ‘the third eye’ has various interpretations,” Keyes said. “I took the photo of Marc’s family and some friends at the Make-A-Marc event in 2023. I imagine that Marc spends a great deal of time contemplating them, and they him, and his eventual freedom, keeping that vision in his ‘third eye.’”

“Home” is a project spearheaded by Tom Mosser, an artist from Penn Hills, an Allegheny County municipality that neighbors Oakmont, where Fogel lives. Mosser previously created an art piece about Fogel, and led the creation of this follow-up design to continue spreading the word about Fogel, in hopes of spurring more action from the U.S. government in bringing Fogel Home.

Mosser said he got to work on the project, named “Home,” because “we want him home,” in October, following recent action by the U.S. government.

“I wanted to wait until he was designated as wrongfully detained,” Mosser said. “When that happened, it got the ball rolling. I reached out to all the people who participated in the art show.”

Mosser previously paid tribute to Fogel in 2023, when he painted a portrait of Fogel titled “Make Your Marc.” Mosser himself created a portrait, but he also called on other artists to create their own artwork about Fogel, which would all be displayed in the Brightspace Room at the Energy Innovation Center in Pittsburgh.

Back then, Fogel’s family was fighting to get him labeled wrongfully detained by the U.S. government — two years after he had been arrested.

Mosser said, at the time, he felt compelled to make art about Fogel, to not only spread the word about his situation, but create a work that could demonstrate to the federal government how many people were invested in bringing Fogel back to the U.S.

That idea spread far and wide — Mosser had to turn artists away because he received so many submissions. For this latest piece, Mosser reached out to some of the artists who submitted to the 2023 project, as well as some he had to turn away. He said “Home” is a follow-up to the work he did on the 2023 piece.

“I thought we would get 25 artists, we ended up getting 90 and I had to turn about 30 away,” Mosser said of the 2023 show. “This time, there's 10 rows of five, and I assigned everybody their own square. I gave them complete creative license.”

Artists involved in the creation of “Home” said they were happy to be involved in a collaborative project. And it wasn’t just a domestic project — Mosser received and used submissions from artists as far away as Italy in the piece.

Randy Backes, a longtime friend of Fogel, contributed a square that fills in Fogel’s shoulder on the portrait. He said he and Fogel shared some humorous inside jokes together, which inspired him to inject some of that levity into the piece — but in a way that could reflect Fogel’s mental state after nearly 200 weeks imprisoned.

“I created my square to share the silly language that made us laugh,” Backes said. “As the work came together, the word ‘science’ started repeating itself, and it started to feel slightly unhinged and a bit insane. I then decided I would write ‘science’ once for every week Marc has spent in prison. I had to number each one, all 177, which brought me closer to the madness he undoubtedly has endured.

Emily Wheeler painted part of Fogel’s shirt for the project. She said creating the piece helped her find connection to Fogel, and seeing it in the display showed the impact of 50 people coming together for a common goal.

“It offers connection and community,” Wheeler said. “It’s a community of people from all beliefs and backgrounds who have come together to help bring justice for another community member.”

Mosser said the collaborative nature of this art piece demonstrates the impact Fogel’s story has made on people around the world.

“It really was very fulfilling, and I was struck by this collaboration,” Mosser said. “The art looks great and it's really cool.”

The Fogel family’s attorney, Sasha Phillips, contributed a square to the image — Marc Fogel’s nose — which depicts his mother, Malphine Fogel, praying the rosary. Malphine Fogel, Marc’s mother, said she heard about Mosser’s new work, but has not seen the image anywhere but on a computer screen so far.

Phillips also was integral to getting this project off the ground, according to Mosser, and her input to the piece also may help get it in front of federal agents who have influence over Marc Fogel’s case.

“When I started working on Marc’s case, one of the moving parts was getting more attention to Marc’s case and getting the word out,” Phillips said. “The plans are to take this piece, and we’re working on seeing if we can present this in person. When Sen. McCormick is in town, I’m really hoping some of our representatives see this piece in Butler. We’ll be sure to present copies of this to them.”

Malphine Fogel said seeing so many people come together to bring attention to her son is touching, just like Mosser’s 2023 project was.

“I thought it was very complimentary to Marc that that many people would take that time to do that project,” Malphine Fogel said. “It’s very creative, and it’s original; and it took a lot of time and effort.”

It is Malphine Fogel’s determination with her son’s case which led Phillips to use her image as part of her square design. According to Phillips, Malphine Fogel has pushed every step of the way in bringing her son home.

“A 96-year-old woman taking on the U.S. government. She, herself, brought together the pieces of the puzzle ,” Phillips said. “She prays the rosary for Marc’s return every single day. Definitely Malphine has been key to all this, being most vocal and passionate about it.”

Malphine Fogel said she told her son that he was the subject of another art project involving numerous artists, but he may not know how big of a deal it is.

“We were very happy about it, and Marc knows about it,” Malphine Fogel said. “I don't think he knows the extent of it. He’s flattered, but, I think, a little taken back.”

“Home,” an art piece depicting Marc Fogel, was created by 50 artists, who each designed one square in the grid made up of five rows of 10. Submitted photo

Dennis Keyes, an artist from Butler, shows off the grid square he made, which depicts Marc Fogel's family in the lens of his “third eye.” When placed into the correct place alongside the project's other 49 squares, Keyes’ image makes up the center of Fogel's forehead. Submitted photo

Emily Wheeler, a painter, shows the square image she made as part of the Marc Fogel collaborative art piece, which fits into the piece as part of Fogel’s shirt. Submitted photo