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Espace Sculpture

Underwater Sculpture Viewers Take Swimmingly to Trend Bob Sterner

Number 68, Summer 2004

URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/8995ac

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Publisher(s) Le Centre de diffusion 3D

ISSN 0821-9222 (print) 1923-2551 (digital)

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Cite this document Sterner, B. (2004). Underwater Sculpture Viewers Take Swimmingly to Trend. Espace Sculpture, (68), 43–44.

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Underwater Sculpture Viewers Take Swimmingly to Trend B0B STERNER I f- transparente et laisse place à A scuba diving certification card is underwater gear manufacturer, plans ancy before embarking on the more DIANE GOUGEON, l'implacable réalité du monde exté­ to install at sites around the world. fragile Machones Reef nearby. The Les (Hfijistoires que the ticket to visit the growing sculp­ rieur. Pourtant en se déplaçant Reef preservation is one reason 39-foot / 12-meter high bronze was l'on se conte, 2003. ture garden beneath the waves. why sculptors are being commis­ forged by local craftsmen, and was Installation in situ légèrement d'un angle de 30 During the next several years the dans les fenêtres du degrés, voilà que le tout s'inverse. sioned to create underwater statuary. dedicated to memory of islanders Centre d'exposition Nous voyons s'inscrire par translu­ number of works underwater is "You don't put them in your best area who died at sea during its sinking cer­ cidité à droite des motifs de feuilles or your worst," Morris said. "You emony on August 17,1997. The event CIRCA. Les deux likely to double with plans to sink a fenêtres de gauche: d'érable et la transparence s'ins­ place them in an interesting area also marked the 140th anniversary of chaque carreau taller dans la fenêtre de gauche — dozen or so statues at dive sites where divers can visit without tram­ the settling of the Caribbean island mesure 104,5x85 cm. comme si Diane Gougeon avait around the world. pling the reef." Visiting divers may be just east of Cancun. Acrylique de coulée, dynamisé son jeu d'oppositions en Why sink a statue into the sea plexiglas sablé, interchangeant dans le mouvement where it is off limits to the vast impressions numéri­ la propriété lumineuse des pas­ majority of arts patrons ? ques sur support tilles. Ce jeu de la transparence et "Sink it and people will come," said Duraclear; les deux de la translucidité risque d'échapper Simon Morris. The Salt Spring Island, • fenêtres de droite : au spectateur dans un premier British Columbia, Canada, sculptor is impressions numéri­ temps. Il exige qu'il se déplace len­ ques sur support completing a World War II aviator tement, latéralement et à répétition Duraclear, cadres bronze, slated for installation on ... ; % devant l'œuvre pour en appré­ d'aluminium ano- Horseshoe Bay, near Vancouver, this hender toute la richesse formelle, disé. 222 x181cm. year. His 9-foot / 3-meter tall mer­ comme cette danse de ronds lumi­ Photo: Daniel maid bronze castings are gracing neux sur les motifs architectoniques Roussel. dive sites off Powell River on B.C.'s du Complexe Desjardins. Sunshine Coast and Grand Cayman Le travail de Diane Gougeon se Island's Sunset House. And he's prête à une lecture plurielle. beginning a series of six Guardian of DIANE GOUGEON, Travaillant à partir de relations exté­ the Reef statues that will be installed Les (Hfi))istoires que rieur/intérieur, plein/vide, définies l'on se conte, 2003. at premiere dive destinations world­ entre autres par leur référence à Détail. Photo: wide. l'architecture, elle me semble les Daniel Roussel. "People like to visit these things," utiliser ici pour les déconstruire. A Morris said. "Diving destinations WE priori, tout ce qui semble s'affronter require something to differentiate se conjugue. Du combat du blanc et themselves from other sites. An du noir, chacun joue du passage de underwater sculpture does the same la transparence à la translucidité. thing as a shipwreck in providing an Du chaud et du froid, le processus • interesting dive and a marketing de création et son lieu sont indisso­ focal point. I've heard that on a good ciables... et même lorsqu'il reste la four-day holiday weekend, Sunset lumière comme seule écriture, elle House will sell $4,000 worth of air at s'édifie pour filer la métaphore $8 per fill. The mermaid draws thou­ architecturale, toujours au moins * sands of visitors per year, and was en deux temps. voted by Rodale's Scuba Diving "• L'artiste sait merveilleusement readers as the most popular shore bien jouer de ces jeux de percep­ dive on Grand Cayman Island." tion. Elle a transformé ici tout motif Dale Evers, Cayucos, Calif., said architectural, sculptural et pictural, the statues provide a commercial en un lieu de passage... où se draw that benefits the artist and the construit le regard, et peut-être destination. "It has sponsorship ben­ même métaphoriquement celui que efits. There's media hype building up l'artiste porte sur son métier. Elle to the initial installation. And after s'est jouée également de la perma­ that, it's not going anywhere. It's nence des choses. Son œuvre n'est- ,Jk. constant advertising." elle pas d'ailleurs éphémère ? <— Evers' dolphins have been pro­ Divers visiting Simon Morris's Mermaid buy viding a focal point for divers visiting new to the sport or unaccustomed to DIANE GOUGEON, thousands of dollars of compressed air Cayman Brae since 2003. "A sculp­ the local conditions. "It gives them Les (H/hjistoires que l'on se conte alone from Sunset House, Grand Cayman, ture is a tribute to the destination, its something to look at until they know Centre d'exposition CIRCA on a good long holiday weekend. Photo: people and its environment," he what they're doing, and raises aware­ 18 octobre-15 novembre 2003 Bob Sterner. said. His dolphins herald stingrays ness about protecting the reef." and dolphins, two creatures associ­ The Cruz de la Bahia was installed Morris's Guardian ofthe Sea pro­ ated with the Caymans. It too is the on a sandy stretch just off Isla ject is especially aimed at reef pro­ first of a series of underwater works Mujeres, Mexico, by local operators to tection. The first 13-foot / 4-meter that Oceanic, a San Leandro, Calif., help divers gain control of their buoy- bronze of an ancient Greco-Roman

ESPACE 68 ÉTÉ / SUMMER 2004 4? Christ ofthe Abyss in warrior will be unveiled this fall at serve in the early 1960s. The statue, and use tungsten-inert gas (TIG) perils at sea was a common custom John Pennecamp Park the annual international show ofthe modelled after the record-setting welding to join the sections. The among fishing boat captains, who off Key Largo, Fla., is Diving Equipment & Marketing Italian swimmer / diver Duillo rods and the material must match. plied their hardscrabble trade in all made from the mold Association, an industry trade group Mercanet, has drawn millions of visi­ If not, you set up a metal difference kinds of weather. The Virgin was of // Cristo Degli that is supporting the effort. The tors since it was installed in 1965 Key that acts as a battery and weakens reinstalled on a pedestal in 1994 and Abssi, the statue off statue, which was purchased by the Largo Cut in the park. No trip to the the statue over time. A zinc coating is visited by thousands of snorkelers Portofino, Italy, by Diving Association of British Florida Keys is complete without vis­ then can provide cathodic protection annually now that it is but 3 feet /1 Guido Galletti, the father of modern Columbia, will join the aviator off iting the statue, local tourism author­ to further preserve the statue." meter below the surface. Offerings underwater Horseshoe Bay some time next year. ities say. Besides divers, the statue Evers said his biggest concern is no longer pile up at her feet now sculpture. Photo Morris aims to develop a Guardians is favoured by families as a site to hurricanes. "If it's at 35 to 40 feet that tourism has supplanted fishing Courtesy of Florida ofthe Reef organization to raise commit loved ones' ashes to the sea. (/10 to 12 meters) at low tide, there as the island's main industry. KeysTDC. funds for underwater statue installa­ Christ ofthe Abyss, at a depth of is going to be lots of wave action A 6-foot / 3-meter long bronze tions worldwide. 25 feet / 7.6 meters, like many and currents in a hurricane. alligator stumps dive operators on Virgin ofthe Guido Galletti is the sculptor who underwater statues, is shallow Redoubling all efforts on welds is Grand Cayman. The casting has been Lighthouse, installed started the trend in underwater stat­ enough to be visited by snorkelers important. You have to make all of at the 55-foot sea bottom beneath decades ago by uary. His 8.5-foot / 2.8-meter bronze as well as certified scuba divers. The the connecting points with twice as Bonnie's Arch for longer than the fishermen as a depicting Jesus Christ standing with shallow depths create technical con­ much surface area as you would for island's dive masters have been talisman for seagoing arms up-stretched can be seen in siderations for sculptors. The marine a land-based sculpture. Bronze has involved in the sport. A thick patina safety, now draws two locations - Portofino, Italy, and environment is harsh on materials a lot of copper and zinc in it, but it of colourful encrusting coral attests tourists to Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Key Largo, Florida. // Cristo Degli and storm surges can create intense won't last forever. However, by the to its long life as an underwater art Photo: Barbara Abssi, which was installed in 1954, buffeting that no top-side statue is time it's completely gone we surely object. Krooss. recently underwent complete likely ever to face. Air pockets in the will be forgotten." That an artist can be forgotten restoration after one of its arms was hollow investment castings must be Some artists are forgotten long despite leaving a monument to time knocked off by an errant boat anchor vented or the statues might float before their underwater works have was not particularly bothersome to two years ago. Technical experts despite their heavy weight on land. washed away. Asking who created Evers. "I think that it's neat in that it from Liguria regional Archaeology "You need to use an environ­ the Cruz de la Bahia will draw a adds mystery to the sea." Department and Rome's Restoration mental bronze alloy similar to what blank face from Isla Mujeres resi­ And for Morris, the important ele­ Center have spent more than a year is used to make ship propellers," dents and tourism authorities, even ment ofthe underwater statue is the reattaching the arm, restoring the Morris said. "You need to be cog­ though it was installed only seven same as that of one on land. "Man patina and structure. The work is to nizant of impurities in metal. I use years ago. Another statue there, the likes to leave his mark. We're embel­ be completed in time for a gala re­ only virgin ingots when I make a Virgin ofthe Lighthouse, has slipped lishers. We like to make changes, installation event this summer that statue for an underwater installa­ into anonymity as well. The 5-foot / hopefully in a positive way." 'f- is tied with the 50th anniversary of tion. For regular statues, I cut off and nearly 2-meter solid bronze casting its statue's creation. reuse the sprues and risers from the was sunk decades ago by local fish­ NOTE Galletti's mold was used to create casting; but for underwater ones, I ermen at the base of a cantankerous 1. Bob Sterner operates Sterner the Christ of the Abyss statue in John use only virgin ingots. You have to rock that had sunk more than a few Editorial Services, Hoboken, N.J. He Pennecamp Park, which became the make sure that the welding rods are skiffs in stormy seas. Tossing offer­ can be contacted at bsterner@pro- United States' first underwater pre­ compatible with the casting material ings of coins and jewelry to ward off digy.net

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