In 2004, Mic was invited to the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi for a bronze exhibition in the Cloister of Pope Sixtus IV depicting St. Francis in postures of prayer, meditation, preaching and interacting with nature. Mic was the first American artist to be bestowed with such an honor. The Basilica of St. Francis is 800 years old and is graced with the incredible frescoes of the perhaps first modern artist Giotto. Michelangelo visited the magnificent basilica to study these frescoes before painting the Sistine Chapel.
The exhibition officially opened with a press conference filled with TV and News media taking photos and video of Mic, Andrea and Padre Vincenzo Coli speaking. Mic had a translator seated next to him as he spoke. Mic and Andrea were also interviewed on Vatican Radio
http://miccarlson.com/Vatican%20interview%20AUDIO.mp3 in Rome about the exhibition. Over 30,000 people from all walks of life visited Mics St. Francis bronze exhibition, from September 18th through October 16th, 2004. Mic met the President of the Senate Marcello Pera and presented him with a painting of St. Francis.
The exhibition was also a collaboration with Italian Photographer Andrea Angelucci. His photos were placed behind the bronzes of Francis as backdrops presenting scenes of places Francis visited in Assisi. A remarkable exhibition of true brotherhood and friendship, it would have made St. Francis proud.
