Work on the “Passage of Wind and Water” sculpture has resumed at Rapid City’s Main Street Square. The 5-year art project is in its third year. SDPB’s Jim Kent visited with the internationally-recognized sculptor who’s creating the massive piece of art to discuss what he’s accomplished and what still needs to be done.
It’s July in Rapid City. Traffic is heavier than usual. Tourists are visiting. The water fountains are on at Main Street Square and Masayuki Nagase is back in town.
Yuki Nagase is approaching the halfway mark in the “Passage of Wind and Water” sculpture project. His “5-year mission” is to create images related to the geological and cultural history of the Badlands and the Black Hills and then carve them into the 21 large pieces of granite that border Main Street Square.
“The first two years were spent doing what?”
“I was working on a stone composition,” Yuki replies. “It’s called Badlands Tapestry Garden. And I completed 8 pieces. And I carved many different things…from ancient aquatic life to modern times. And I united all stones with nature’s theme of wind.”
Aspects of the Lakota culture were also included in the Badlands Tapestry Garden, says Nagase. This year Yuki begins work on the Black Hills Tapestry Garden. Like the Badlands section, the Black Hills portion of the sculpture will include images that reflect the area’s geological and cultural history. This time water is the common theme while one of the images Yuki will carve is of the sun.
“But not directly a round ball or something,” Yuki explains. “I want to express some sort of ray of light.”
Yuki Nagase explains that he likes those who look at his work to use their own imaginations when viewing it so that they can participate in his art.
As part of Yuki’s goal to include the community in his art, the sculptor plans to start collecting something from adults and children from the Rapid City area.
“This year I’m going to start collecting people’s hand prints,” Yuki advises. “I’ll prepare something to get people’s hand on…like a stamp. And then reflect it on paper.”
Those hand prints will then be transposed on to the two large spires at the entrance to Rapid City’s Main Street Square – reflecting the participation of the entire community in Passage of Wind and Water.
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http://listen.sdpb.org/post/muralists-landscape-image-compliments-sculpture-project
Related link:
http://listen.sdpb.org/post/muralists-landscape-image-compliments-sculpture-project