earth is like flesh, and the archaeology and geology in the earth are like the bones, the structure of the earth. this tied in with his idea of mother earth, with the sense that we are all tied to nature and the earth. >> a half dozen bay area museums and private collectors loan the massive sculptures to the museum for its matter and spirit retrospective. but the most unusual contributions came from stephen himself. a wall of autobiographical masks and hence from the early decades of his private study. >> he had one of the most beautiful studios i have ever been in. when you walk in, your first impression is of these monumental figures that you see in the exhibition, but if you went into the back corner of his studio, there was a series of shells with these diminutive figures. he told me, these are the heart of my studio.

these little, and held intimate study is that he referred to as his sketchbook. a painter might make drawings. stephen de staebler made miniature sculptures. >> during the 1970's, he was inspired by the monuments of egypt. he assembled a large rocks of clay into figures that resembled the ancient kings and queens. he credited a weathered appearance by rubbing glazes' into the clay while still wet. the misfires from his killed were brought in his backyard in his berkeley home. he called it his boneyard. in the last year of his life, he dug up the artifacts from his own history, and the bones were rearranged, in the were slimmer figures with wings. >> even if you knew nothing about his life or career, you sensed there was an artist dealing with this fundamental issue of life and death, the cake, netting back together, and

you feel there is an attempt to deal with mortality and immortality. there is a seeking of spiritual meaning in an existential stage. >> during his 50-year career, stephen de staebler worked to form and out of the clay of the ground and give it a breath of life. matter and spirit gathers the many expressions of his meditations. and gives the viewer and insight into the artist's life. learn more about the retrospective on line at

>> is my pleasure to introduce our first speaker. in addition to making it possible for us to use this beautiful ballroom for the dedication ceremony today, he made great contributions to the dragon dance you just saw performed moments ago. i felt very under-dressed after seeing him. please welcome mr. palermo.

>> happy new year! [applause] i would like to welcome everyone to the hilton financial district and the u.s. postal service stamp ceremony. we are honored to share this opportunity and proud to be part of the dedication ceremony. happy new year, everybody. [applause] >> thank you, jeff. i am pleased to introduce the honorable edwin lee, the first asian-american mayor in san francisco history. he was appointed unanimously as the successor mayor by the board of supervisors in 2011 to fill the remaining term of mayor news who was sworn in a

s lieutenant governor. mayor lee won the election and will serve a full term as mayor. prior to his employment with the city and county of san francisco, he was the managing attorney for the san francisco asian law caucus. he worked there from 1979 to 1989. he was born in seattle. he was born in a previous year of the dragon. he is a summa cum laude graduate of bowdoin college and san francisco school of law. please help me welcome san francisco's mayor. [applause] >> thank you. happy new year. [applause] it is my delight to be here.

i want to add my thanks to the u.s. postal service. i look forward to this every year to see the postal officials delivered the artistic beauty of these stamps. this is the fifth stamp set the we have enjoy. thank you for being here. i really enjoy the camaraderie of everybody on the stage. he represents a much of what we're proud of in the city reduced represent so much of what we're proud of in the city. -- you represent so much of what we're proud of in the city. it was in the earlier years when we started the tradition of designing the stamps. claudine, thank you very much. [applause] tommy ing, officials are here

today as well from the u.s. postal service. thank you very much. to my good friend who will follow me. we were law school roommates at berkeley. he is also a dragon. we have two dragons in the house. he is now the federal judge for the ninth circuit. he is enjoying himself. i know that. he fought hard for that judge ship. we're so happy to see him there. you should have been there during our law school years having two dragons in the same house. it was a hot house. [laughter] anita and i have done all of the

traditional things. in the last two weeks, we have clean our house. we have done all the things we're supposed to do. we're getting ready to host the new year. what a wonderful year this will be. it is a year of the dragon. it is the most powerful of all the zodiac animals. it also represents with this city is all about. it challenges us to make sure that we take the risks and meet our challenges head-on. we do not fear change. we make those changes. we are bold and innovative. we will innovate our way to solutions. that is what is wonderful year of the dragon will mean. i am so proud to a been elected your mayor of this great city.

it is not just the chinese new year. it is celebrated through the vietnamese and the japanese, korean communities, the african- american and latino communities. they're all here in this room joined by many different agencies, including our school district. norm is a new member of the school district board. thank you for being here. [applause] so many of you have joined in looking at the stamp. it is artistic and rich with heritage. the art director is here. thank you for being here as well. there are so many students. i want to put forth the theme of education. we have an opportunity to educate people about the themes of our culture.

we can unite the city and bay area as much as we can in celebration and in the boldness and innovation that the dragon calls for. we will need it because so many things are happening. this is the time we take on the challenges before us. the art history of this design is so rich and intricate. i have seen the others, but this one is really special. you have done a great job. thank you very much. [applause] and so it is that i want to welcome everyone on this very prestigious day. earlier, we had members of the board of supervisors. everybody wants to do something special on chinese new year. i understand that david chiu has

officiated a marriage for one of his staff. we will now have many dragons running around. [applause] there are so many other things happening today. it is wonderful. i could ushave used more red at the game last night, but we will move forward. thank you to the postal service and all of the groups. individuals have stepped up like jeff and walter and so many individuals stepping up and using their own time and efforts. the parade in the events leading up to it are about the community coming together to utilize our time, talent, and resources to celebrate and reinvigorate the city. [applause]

>> thank you, mayor lee. i am pleased to introduce judge chen, a graduate of the university of california at berkeley and also the law school at berkeley. he was appointed a federal magistrate for the northern district of california in april of 2001. after clerking for a district judge and court of appeals judge, judge chen practiced as a litigation associate. in 1985, he joined the american civil liberties union foundation of northern california. he worked on a wide range of issues including free speech, employs privacy rights, police

misconduct, and discrimination. in august of 2009, he was nominated by president obama's to the u.s. district court. on may 10, 2011, he was confirmed by the u.s. senate as a district judge. he told me a few minutes ago he gets the last word after his college roommate. please join me in welcoming our dragon judge, judge chen. [applause] >> thank you, steve. it is an honor to be here. it is a double honor to follow the mayor. i have never had the mayor as my opening act. [laughter] i really am pleased to be here. mayor lee is right. we go way back. we have known each other for 37

years. the mayor is only about 48. [laughter] we do have a lot in common. maybe that is why i was chosen to come after the mayor. they say two heads are better than one. we're both in dragons. we're both water dragons. this is the year of the water dragon, every 12 years. you can kind of gas how old the mayor is. [laughter] if you subtract 24 from that, you will get my age. [laughter] not only do we share the name ed, we have parents coming from the same part of china. we went to the same law school. we share the same address for a brief period of time. we worked in many of these same agencies. we both have beautiful wives who have been very supportive, a

great kids, and both of us are really good looking. [laughter] for those of you who have some doubt about the chinese zodiac and horoscope system, let me read you this description of the water dragon to see how well it fits the mayor and me. the water element focuses on other's well-being rather than their own. they are often more diplomatic and intuitive. they seek out positions that focus on correcting social problems. what better description for our mayor? there's also a list of characteristics associated with water dragons. innovative, enterprising, eclectic, self-assured, passionate, surely not

conceited, quick-tempered, and talk to us. [laughter] -- tactless. [laughter] we will skip those. not only is this a beautiful work of art at an important date and time of our life, but it symbolizes something really important. that is the diversity of this nation. to have a stand that celebrates the lunar new year with more to come really sends a message that the chinese-american community is part of america and that all of our cultures are important. as a kid growing up in the bay area, the postal service has played an important role in our community. everybody knows somebody who has worked for the postal service. the postal service has been one of the most important employers

of minorities throughout its history. i remember as a young child one public neater we could look to was postmaster lee. [applause] that was the most important role model we had. we did not have a mayor, board of supervisors president, people on the board of education. but we had somebody we could look to. i want to thank the postal service for playing a leadership role in making sure diversity is an important part of our country. [applause] >> for the dedication, it is my pleasure to introduce the vice- president for sales at the u.s. postal service. he was named vice president of sales in august of 2001. he oversees the sales and service organization focused on

serving the needs of all commercial mailers and businesses. please welcome him to begin the dedication of the stamp. [applause] >> thank you. good morning. happy new year. i am pleased to be here joining you and thousands of people around the world in celebrating lunar new year. the u.s. postal service work force is one of the most diverse in america. that is by design. we serve the most diverse customers on the face of the era. nearly 40% of our employees are minorities. of those, nearly 9% are asian- american or pacific islanders. we are extremely proud of our inclusive environment that respects the uniqueness of every individual and encourages the contributions of people from different cultures, backgrounds,